British analyst Con Coughlin:
America should treat Iran like Russia
An illustration of the Iranian "Shahid 136" drone, which was shot down in the skies of Ukraine.
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British analyst and researcher Con Coughlin argues that now even that the Biden administration has been forced to acknowledge its ill-considered attempts to revive the Iran nuclear deal, the West should not lose sight of Iran's controversial activities around the world.
In an analysis published by the American Gatestone Institute, Coughlin says that throughout the year-long negotiation process in Vienna over Iran's nuclear ambitions, which the Biden administration has now admitted to have ended in a stalemate, Tehran has tried to give the impression that it is interested in negotiating an agreement, while it is At the same time, it escalates its aggressive activities in the Middle East and other regions.
Coughlin adds that despite European leaders' claims that an agreement is still possible, Iranian intransigence has already ended the negotiations, with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken acknowledging that Iran's latest demands set the process "backward."
setback
Although the failure of the talks represents a major setback for the Biden administration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, it is important that the United States and its allies confront the reality of Iran's expanding military operations around the world.
Covlin said that in what is considered a noticeable increase in Iranian activity, the Ukrainian forces participating in the very successful attack to restore large areas of the north-east of the country announced that they had shot down an Iranian "Shahed-136" drone used by the Russian armed forces in the Kharkiv region.
The first reports that Iran offered to provide Russia with military-style parades to support its military efforts in Ukraine emerged last July, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tehran, where he met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
US officials later announced that Russian cargo planes had flown the first batch of Iranian drones.
Although Tehran denied these reports, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense published photos showing what appeared to be parts of a wrecked march with the inscription “Neighbors-2” on its side in Russian.
dangerous escalation
Coughlin believes that this is a really dangerous escalation in Iranian military activities, as this is the first time that Iranian military equipment has been deployed on European soil.
He adds that one of the arguments often used by those who make excuses for Iran is that Tehran does not pose a threat to Europe, and that its military activities are limited to achieving its goals in the Middle East, including its long-term ambition to eliminate Israel.
This argument is refuted by the fact that there is evidence that Iran strongly supports the Russian war on Ukraine.
Coughlin believes that if Iran is ready to deploy advanced military equipment, such as drones, on European soil, then it is clear that Iran's rulers will not hesitate to launch their long-range ballistic missiles, potentially equipped with nuclear weapons, on European targets.
military cooperation
On the other hand, it is not surprising that Russia and Iran seek to increase their military cooperation in their efforts to confront the West, as the two countries suffer from the repercussions of Western sanctions, and find themselves isolated on the international stage.
In any case, Iran's willingness to become a direct participant in the bloodiest conflict witnessed by the West since the end of World War II, represents a noticeable escalation in the threat facing the outside world, which Western countries ignore despite the danger it poses to them.
Furthermore, Coughlin explained, Iran's increasing involvement in the Ukraine war should be seen in the context of its recent increased activity in other military areas.
Despite Iran's insistence that it is eager to negotiate a new nuclear deal that limits its ability to obtain military-grade nuclear materials, Iranian officials rumored last month that they now had the technical ability to produce an atomic bomb.
At the annual conference of the Jerusalem Post in New York last week, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz revealed a map showing more than 10 facilities that Iran has set up in Syria in recent years to produce high-precision, medium and long-range missiles that can be used to target Israel.
This is strange behavior for a country that says it is interested in peace, as Iran has repeatedly asserted, Coughlin said.
Despite claims by European leaders that an agreement is still possible, Iranian intransigence has effectively ended the negotiations.
The failure of the talks represents a major setback for the Biden administration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, and it is important that the United States and its allies confront the reality of Iran's expanding military operations around the world.
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