It does not happen often that a German minister of state responds to the vice-president of the United States. Protocol and politically lie between the Republican Mike Pence and the SPD politician Niels Annen Welten. But the fact that this unusual exchange was on Thursday in Warsaw says a lot about the controversial Middle East conference, to which the Americans had invited to the Polish capital.

For two days, representatives from 60 countries discussed the crisis region. Although the Polish government had assured that it would not be an anti-Iran conference, it was almost all about Iran. The Americans had already choreographed the dinner on Wednesday so that no dialogue could come about, but only selected speakers were allowed to present their expectable criticism:

  • The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain presented the mullah regime as fascist. The US diplomat Dennis Ross moderated sympathetically.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then joined the panel and praised his three previous speakers. He has just been "dethroned", Netanyahu said. Otherwise he is always the harshest Iran critic.

On Thursday morning, Yemen, Syria and the Middle East conflict were officially on the agenda, but for most speakers, Iran seemed to be the root of all evil. Although there is hardly anyone in the EU who does not perceive Iran's foreign policy as a danger:

  • the rocket program,
  • the threats against Israel,
  • the support of the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and the Syrian dictator Assad.

But how to deal with this threat, there are considerable differences of opinion between the US and its Arab Sunni allies on the one hand and most Europeans on the other hand.

US vice attacks EU for Iran policy

Pence, who accused Iran of preparing a "new holocaust", praised that many Arab states had followed the Trump administration and had also imposed sanctions on Tehran. "Sadly," said the US Vice-President, "some of our leading European partners were not nearly as cooperative, instead trying to create mechanisms to circumvent our sanctions."

He was aiming for the new payment system "Instex" for the trade of European companies with Iran. (You can find out more about the background here). Thereupon the German Minister of State Annen spoke up. It must be a misunderstanding, said the SPD politician.

The payment channel only serves to facilitate trade with Iran, which is also legal under US law. One agrees in the assessment of Iran's foreign policy, according to Annen, "but we do not believe in the strategy of maximum pressure." Because Tehran adheres to the obligations of the nuclear agreement, Germany is on the deal. In other words, Iran is dividing the world.

Ruhani, Putin and Erdogan are fighting for Syria

The date of the Warsaw Middle East Conference should have been carefully chosen. On Friday begins the Munich Security Conference, where the major conflicts in the world are discussed - and thus also Iran's role in the Middle East.

photo gallery


6 pictures

Middle East summit in Sochi and Warsaw: The struggle for influence - and Iran

Among other things, it was a topic in Sochi on Thursday. Iranian President Hassan Rohani met in the Russian Black Sea city Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the meanwhile fourth Syria summit under six eyes. The governments in Tehran and Moscow are the protectors of the regime of rulers Bashar al-Assad, Ankara supports - some radical Islamic - rebels.

Despite this rivalry, Turkey and Iran in particular have converged in recent years. Ankara sees more and more a partner in Tehran to enforce geopolitical interests:

  • With the help of Tehran, Erdogan intends to limit the supremacy of Saudi Arabia in the region,
  • and push back the Kurdish militia YPG in northern Syria, which wants to build an autonomous region there.

In return, Erdogan protects the Iranian regime against US attacks. Turkey also demonstratively stayed away from the Middle East conference in Warsaw. Whether the government in Ankara can do as militarily as it likes the YPG militia in northern Syria, however, depends less on Iran than on Russia. For the Kremlin, the territorial sovereignty of Syria is inviolable.

MIRROR ONLINE

For this reason, Putin has been planning an offensive against the Islamist terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham for months. It now controls at least two-thirds of the province of Idlib, the last remaining rebel stronghold in Syria, where Turkey is also militarily present. But at the conference with Rohani and Erdogan he did not - or could not - name a date for the military offensive.