A wolf in sheep’s clothing is the most often used description of Rouhani, the president of Iran. Left out somewhere in that description are words depicting him as a smiling, venomous snake. His objectives are the lifting of sanctions which are crippling Iran as well as the continuation of Iran’s uranium enrichment program - and not for strictly peaceful purposes. Iran’s enrichment ambitions are clearly aimed toward creating nuclear weaponry which will undoubtedly be used against Israel and others.
Let us not forget that Rouhani is not his own boss. He is working at the behest of the real ruler of Iran, the Ayatollah Khamenei. Hassan Rouhani is only his mouthpiece. Rouhani has been a part of the Iranian regime for a long time. Khamenei took 700 candidates, eliminated 99 percent of them which left 1 percent. The Iranian people chose what they thought was the lesser of the evils of that 1 percent which turned out to be Rouhani.
If we fail to learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. A look at Rouhani’s history in negotiations reveals a man who will do anything to achieve his goals. Back in May in a video clip on Iranian state television, Rouhani and the regime utterly flouted a 2003 agreement with the IAEA in which Iran promised to suspend all uranium enrichment and certain other nuclear activities. Apparently agitated that people might actually think he was bowing to the West; a smiling Rouhani called it a lie. He proceeded to detail how Iran had flagrantly breached the October 2003 “Tehran Declaration” which he said was supposed to outline how everything should be suspended. Rouhani said, “We did not let that happen. That is how we completed the nuclear enrichment program.” In Rouhani’s book in 2011 he said, “While we were talking to the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing equipment in Isfahan.”
Iran’s Isfahan facility is an indispensable part of their nuclear weapons program. This is where uranium ore called yellowcake is converted into an enrichable form. Rouhani boasted, “By creating a calm environment we were able to complete the work in Isfahan.” He also claimed credit for the development of a heavy-water reactor in Arak in 2004 and in the winter of that year the number of centrifuges reached 3,000. Rouhani’s boast, “By creating a calm environment we were able to complete work,” tells it all. Clearly, lying and deception are tools Rouhani and the entire Iranian regime readily and unashamedly use in their diplomatic negotiations. Remember, what Iran and other Islamic countries say in their native tongues to their own media and people is often the exact opposite of what they say to Western media and the whole of the English speaking world.
A calm environment – that is exactly what he is trying to achieve now. In his address to the UN on September 24, Rouhani said,”Iran poses absolutely no threat to the world or the region,” and offered “to engage immediately in time-bound and result-oriented talks” over the nuclear program, “to build mutual confidence and removal of mutual uncertainties with full transparency.” Sound familiar? Sounds like the first talks in 2003; a slow, steady and calm environment to buy time to continue their nuclear activities. Also one of the first things he asked for in recent Geneva talks was a lifting of the sanctions.
Rouhanni claims that what they are building is for nuclear energy only. Many countries around the world have nuclear energy programs without enrichment capabilities. Rouhanni wants enrichment capability because that is the way to get to nuclear bombs. They also want a heavy water reactor to go through the plutonium route to the bomb. Countries that want civilian nuclear energy do not have heavy water reactors for plutonium and do not have centrifuges for enrichment.
President Barack Obama is salivating at the prospect of an agreement with Iran to stop their march toward the nuclear bomb. He is eager to show himself as a “strong leader” after the debacle of Syria which painted him as a weak and waffling leader on the world stage. He bases his belief that this can be accomplished because of the ascent of the “moderate” Rouhani. Mr. Obama, it is hoped that you will do your homework on the “moderate, calming, smiling, lying” Rouhani. Certainly evidence is mounting that Rouhani is a master of deception when it comes to dealing with western nuclear demands, and is proud of his skill in saying one thing and doing another.
The Obama administration is facing an unexpected hurdle in its new nuclear talks with Iran. A sizeable bloc of Democratic lawmakers has made it clear that they would break with the White House and fight any effort to lift the current sanctions on Tehran. A wide array of powerful Democrats, including the top members of both the Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committees, strongly oppose lifting any of the existing sanctions on Iran unless Tehran offers to go far beyond anything Zarif has talked about in Geneva. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington, has also promised to do everything in its power to keep the punitive measures in place. One might add that not only Democrats, but also Republicans, are standing strong against any efforts to lift the sanctions.
Iran must agree to give up enrichment capabilities, the heavy water reactor to go through the plutonium route to the bomb, fuel cycle capability and the destruction of the underground, heavily fortified nuclear plant at Qom. This underground facility is largely impervious to air strikes or the monitoring of any dismantling of its centrifuges. There must be an agreement for regular, in-person and on-site monitoring of all dismantling promises and all disposal actions. But remember, even if Rouhani signs off on all of this, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, could veto the deal.
The entire world is not playing by the same rule book. Those countries which value freedom and democracy also value honesty and integrity. The same is not true for the Islamic world. The Koran allows Islamic believers to lie to the “infidels” if it furthers their cause therefore it is impossible to negotiate with Islamists and expect a satisfactory outcome. Surely the US and others participating in the Geneva talks know the second round is surely doomed to fail no matter what words are spoken by Rouhani.