Al-Jazeera Net-Tehran
Iran has adopted a carrot and stick policy in dealing with the transitional phase in Washington, between announcing its readiness for dialogue on the return of President-elect Joe Biden's administration to the nuclear agreement and launching the "security versus security and threat versus threat" equation in its military strategy.
Diplomatically, Tehran showed high flexibility in announcing its intention to deal with the incoming Biden administration, as it announced through its Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif that it was ready to return immediately to implement its obligations in the nuclear agreement, in case Biden decided to return to it and implement its provisions.
In contrast to what has been the relationship between Washington and Tehran during the era of outgoing President Donald Trump, Zarif confirmed - in an interview with Iran's official newspaper - that his country does not object to negotiating within the framework of the "5 + 1" group, and that it is ready for dialogue on Washington's return to the nuclear agreement.
Well thought out policy
Observers in Tehran saw that the Iranian proposal aims to reach understandings with the Biden administration, but they expressed their fear that the reports on "Tehran pumping uranium gas into new centrifuges at the Natanz facility" would lead to the friendliness that prevailed in the relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency throughout The past two months.
For his part, Director of the Institute for International Relations Majid Zouari considered that Iran and the Biden administration really want to resolve the Iranian nuclear file, but he ruled out the return of the American president-elect to the nuclear agreement from which his predecessor Donald Trump withdrew in 2018, and he explained his reading by saying that the American side will demand more privileges about Returning to the deal.
Zouari said - in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that Tehran is dealing with the American side according to a well-studied roadmap, considering that the synchronization in the start of pumping uranium hexafluoride gas into new "ER2M" centrifuges at the Natanz facility with messages Zarif, diplomacy, sends a message to the opposite side that Tehran is ready for various scenarios, and that it considers its last nuclear step as part of a response to the failure of some of the parties to the nuclear agreement.
He added, "Iran is taking the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement and the possibilities of the Biden administration continuing to pressurize it into account, and therefore it wants to show the opposite party that it is determined to reach an understanding with Washington diplomatically, despite its possession of the legal tools to follow up the US violation of the agreement."
Salami said that his country will not be bound by a specific geographical area in defending its security (Iranian press)
Military doctrine
Militarily, Iran has chosen the transitional stage in Washington to inaugurate the "Martyr Rudky" battleship, which is described as a trans-oceanic and equipped with missile systems. It includes a helicopter take-off runway and several drones, and it can transport fast boats on board.
Iranian state television described the battleship as "a mobile maritime city ready to carry out missions in the oceans."
From the Gulf waters, the Commander in Chief of the Revolutionary Guard, Major General Hossein Salami, saw the new military achievement as an occasion to remind those he described as enemies that international waters in the Gulf region constitute the "solid defense front" for his country, and warned at the same time that Iran would not be bound by a specific geographical area in defense of Its security and vital interests, and that it will not allow any party to attack it.
In the wake of leaks to the New York Times about Trump's polling of the views of a number of senior officials on the possibility of "taking action" against an Iranian nuclear site, the commander of the Navy in the Revolutionary Guard, Ali Reza Tangsiri, inaugurated the equation of "security versus security and threat versus threat" in the Iranian strategy, which he said was in place On peace, friendship and collective security.
And based on the Iranian military doctrine, the Iranian armed forces' response to any foreign threat will be reciprocated in defense of national sovereignty and its vital interests, as confirmed by the researcher in military affairs, Hossein Deliane.
In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Delrian said that the recent positions of the Revolutionary Guard commanders indicate that Iran has gone beyond its previous military strategy, saying that the response to the external threat is appropriate and limited by geographical space, stressing that the Iranian military strategy has become more offensive for years, and requires the response outside the geographical borders. In defense of national interests.
Stick and carrot
Researcher Hossein Delian considered that the attachment of the "martyr Rudky" battleship to the naval fleet of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard comes within the framework of Tehran's program to enhance its military capabilities, stressing that the coming period will witness the launch of more military achievements of the Revolutionary Guard, without going into details.
Delrian also denied any link between the timing of the launch of the battleship and the recent US threats to launch a military strike on Iran.
In the meantime, Majid Zouari, director of the Institute for International Relations, believes in the positions of the Iranian military establishment in support of Tehran's diplomacy, stressing that the ball is in the American court, and that "Biden must choose between negotiation or confronting the language of force in dealing with the Iranian file," he said.
He concluded that Tehran’s behavior during the transitional period in Washington proves Iran's readiness to negotiate and affirms its determination to defend its vital interests, describing his country's behavior as a “carrot and stick policy” in the face of a similar policy that Biden will pursue in the coming period.