Rouhani Has Exposed the Futility of European Diplomacy

by Con Coughlin

• The reality of the delusional approach adopted by Mr Macron and other European leaders was, though, brutally exposed the moment Mr Rouhani arrived in New York. Instead of showing any sign of seeking to repair Tehran's strained relationship with the West and its allies, he instead indulged in an orgy of self-justification in which he sought to portray his country as an innocent victim of Western aggression rather than accepting, as is really the case, that Iran was the primary instigator of the latest escalation in tensions.
  
  
• "The security of our region shall be provided when American troops pull out." — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, UN General Assembly, September 25, 2019.
  
  
• This will have made for uncomfortable listening for all those European leaders who still believe that the best way to resolve the global crisis with Iran is by trying to save the nuclear deal.
  
  
• The reality is that, so long as Tehran remains committed to its hostile stance towards the West, there is little prospect of having a constructive relationship with Iran.
  
  
  
  
  The utter futility of European attempts to keep faith with the flawed Iranian nuclear deal has been brutally exposed in the wake of the uncompromising approach adopted by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during the United Nations General Assembly.
  
  
  In the build-up to the UN's annual jamboree of global networkers, there had been much speculation that, against a background of mounting tensions in the Gulf over Tehran's aggressive conduct, the forum might provide an opportunity to re-establish a dialogue with the ayatollahs.
  
  
  To this end French President Emmanuel Macron has, in particular, been actively trying to broker a diplomatic rapprochement between Tehran and Washington, to the extent it was even suggested that a bilateral meeting might be possible between US President Donald Trump and Mr Rouhani.
  
  
  The reality of the delusional approach adopted by Mr Macron and other European leaders was, though, brutally exposed the moment Mr Rouhani arrived in New York. Instead of showing any sign of seeking to repair Tehran's strained relationship with the West and its allies, he instead indulged in an orgy of self-justification in which he sought to portray his country as an innocent victim of Western aggression rather than accepting, as is really the case, that Iran was the primary instigator of the latest escalation in tensions.
  
  
  
  
  The prime target of his attack was, unsurprisingly, the US, which he accused of engaging in "merciless economic terrorism" following the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and impose a new round of economic sanctions against Tehran.
  
  
  Washington's policies, Mr Rouhani contended, were designed to "deprive Iran from participating in the global economy" by resorting to tactics that amounted to "international piracy."
  
  
  
  
  In short, the tone of Mr Rouhani's address to the UN was that of a politician who wants to maintain his confrontational stance against the West, rather than of a man who genuinely seeks peace.
  This will have made for uncomfortable listening for all those European leaders who still believe that the best way to resolve the global crisis with Iran is by trying to save the nuclear deal.
  The reality is that, so long as Tehran remains committed to its hostile stance towards the West, there is little prospect of having a constructive relationship with Iran.