Return of Cold War Aura to Munich Security Conference

2023/03/08 | interview, political, top news

Strategic Council Online - Interview: An expert on international affairs stated that not inviting Iran to the Munich conference is a political and symbolic action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and stated: Such events may continue and somehow seek isolation, defamation and delegitimization of Iran which should be confronted.

In an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Mahdi Shapouri considered no invitation of Iran and Russia to attend the Munich Security Conference as a sign of return to the era and atmosphere of the Cold War and said: It cannot be said that not inviting Iran to the non-governmental and informal meeting is a very important incident, but this issue shows how much they are trying to isolate Iran and Russia.

Shapouri further added: The main focus of the meeting was on the issue of the war in Ukraine, and the attendees emphasized the need to pay attention to the serious determination to confront Russia and send tanks, advanced air defense systems, and long-range missiles to Ukraine on time, and addressing other issues, including Iran, was below the war related issues. Among the politicians present at the conference, there was a consensus that Russia should not win the war in Ukraine, but should lose it, and supporting Ukraine should continue for as long as necessary. This look affected the entire conference.

Saying that the false claim of Tehran’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war was raised in the conference and it seems that the main reason for not inviting Iran was that claim; though the pressure of the Iranian opposition and some European civil organizations, due to the recent unrest, had an impact on it, he added: The Munich Security Conference is non-governmental and has been formed with an aim of providing an atmosphere for the presence of political and security figures to raise important issues of each era and create security discourses.

This member of the academic faculty of the Strategic Studies Research Institute reminded that governments do not have a role in shaping the conference and the presence or absence of personalities, and continued: Since the meeting was supposed to discuss the details of the war in Ukraine and how to deal with Russia, not inviting Moscow was predictable, but Iranian officials were invited to that conference in the past years and had found a place in it. Therefore, we cannot remain indifferent to lack of inviting Iran to this year’s meeting.

Stating that non-invitation is a political and symbolic action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Shapouri added: Such incidents may continue and somehow seek to isolate, discredit and delegitimize Iran, which must be dealt with.

He said: The Munich conference was always a place to discuss the security issues of the world, and as a rule, there should have been a discussion in it regarding the broader aspects of security, the numerous current security issues and the true root of what happened today. There are wider security issues in the world, and it is not only the Ukraine issue that is considered as a world security challenge. In addition, the beneficiaries of this war and its main factors were not addressed, while from the beginning this conference was established with an aim of preventing conflicts and wars.

Remembering that the purpose of creating that conference since the Cold War was that prominent figures and politicians express the security issues of the West and exchange views about them in order to create dialogue and consensus, the expert continued: During the Cold War, the Soviet Union Eastern bloc countries were not invited to the conference, but after the Cold War, as the atmosphere of ideological confrontation disappeared, non-Western countries were gradually invited, and Iran was also invited to that conference for several years. Now not inviting Iran and Russia also shows a return to the era and atmosphere of the Cold War.

Shapouri called Beijing’s invitation to attend the Munich Security Conference important for its organizers and said: Although the recent tensions between the United States and China were among the issues raised in that annual conference, they did not observe China in the category of countries that pose an immediate threat to them.

He pointed to the external pressure not to invite Iran and Russia to that non-governmental conference and the inability of its organizers to stand up to those pressures and added: False claims about Iran’s drone support for Russia in the Ukraine war have had a strong impact in Europe and we have witnessed negative advertisements and frequent discussions about this in Western media. Such conditions have created a hostile atmosphere against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its coincidence with internal unrest has intensified those conditions.

Shapouri emphasized: We should be alert to the general atmosphere that has been formed in the past months towards Iran and should not allow some opposing movements to impose more costs on the country with the support of foreign governments and services. It is necessary to act more actively in the field of diplomacy and take seriously the capacities of public diplomacy. Serious measures should be put on the agenda to deal with actions that are carried out with the aim of Iranophobia and delegitimization of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The continuation of current conditions can create more costs for the country in the long run.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LATEST CONTENT

Zionist Regime’s Post-War Map for Gaza

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Middle East issues said: After nearly 150 days have passed since the attacks of Israeli planes on Gaza and the unprecedented genocide in this city, regional and international efforts to end the Gaza crisis have intensified.

Reasons for Inaction & Inefficiency of Intl Organizations in Providing Aid to Gaza

Strategic Council Online: An expert on regional issues said: With the start of the Gaza war, many major powers and international organizations not only did not take honest action to support the defenseless Palestinian people, but instead, with their support for the actions of the Zionist regime, they caused their crimes to increase over the past five months.

France and the Two-State Solution in Occupied Territories

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: The announcement of France’s agreement with the formation of two states in the Occupied Territories is a measure to raise the international image of France and reduce domestic pressure on the Macron government for inaction against the Israeli crimes in Gaza.

The Prospect of US Military Withdrawal from Iraq

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although most currents, politicians and even ordinary people in Iraq call for withdrawal of American military forces from their country, there are sometimes differences of opinion regarding the time of this withdrawal. On the one hand, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the Prime Minister of Iraq, is very serious in demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Still, he wants to achieve this goal through “negotiation and political deal”. On the other hand, the Iraqi Resistance groups want the Americans to leave this country as soon as possible. The American side is also talking about a military withdrawal from Iraq in the next three years.

Russia’s Multifaceted Relations with Neighbors

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An international affairs expert said: After Russia attacked Ukraine two years ago, the country’s relations with some of its European neighbors were severely disturbed in such a way that a clear future cannot be imagined for it.

Solution to Get Out of FATF Blacklist and Get Rid of Its Heavy Costs?

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Financial Action Task Force, FATF, announced on Friday, February 23, that the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran remains on the “blacklist” of this international organization. A decision that was not unexpected for the authorities of our country. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, one day before the release of the FATF statement, due to the current sanctions, Iran is looking for its own FATF, as it uses other tools instead of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). On this basis, it seems that while the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon were removed from the “Grey List” of FATF in the previous reviews in June 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not trying to be exempted from the blacklist. But what kind of organization is FATF, and why are some in Iran against joining it? And what is the way out of this situation?

Loading

Últimas publicaciones

Zionist Regime’s Post-War Map for Gaza

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Middle East issues said: After nearly 150 days have passed since the attacks of Israeli planes on Gaza and the unprecedented genocide in this city, regional and international efforts to end the Gaza crisis have intensified.

Reasons for Inaction & Inefficiency of Intl Organizations in Providing Aid to Gaza

Strategic Council Online: An expert on regional issues said: With the start of the Gaza war, many major powers and international organizations not only did not take honest action to support the defenseless Palestinian people, but instead, with their support for the actions of the Zionist regime, they caused their crimes to increase over the past five months.

France and the Two-State Solution in Occupied Territories

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: The announcement of France’s agreement with the formation of two states in the Occupied Territories is a measure to raise the international image of France and reduce domestic pressure on the Macron government for inaction against the Israeli crimes in Gaza.

The Prospect of US Military Withdrawal from Iraq

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although most currents, politicians and even ordinary people in Iraq call for withdrawal of American military forces from their country, there are sometimes differences of opinion regarding the time of this withdrawal. On the one hand, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the Prime Minister of Iraq, is very serious in demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Still, he wants to achieve this goal through “negotiation and political deal”. On the other hand, the Iraqi Resistance groups want the Americans to leave this country as soon as possible. The American side is also talking about a military withdrawal from Iraq in the next three years.

Russia’s Multifaceted Relations with Neighbors

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An international affairs expert said: After Russia attacked Ukraine two years ago, the country’s relations with some of its European neighbors were severely disturbed in such a way that a clear future cannot be imagined for it.

Solution to Get Out of FATF Blacklist and Get Rid of Its Heavy Costs?

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Financial Action Task Force, FATF, announced on Friday, February 23, that the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran remains on the “blacklist” of this international organization. A decision that was not unexpected for the authorities of our country. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, one day before the release of the FATF statement, due to the current sanctions, Iran is looking for its own FATF, as it uses other tools instead of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). On this basis, it seems that while the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon were removed from the “Grey List” of FATF in the previous reviews in June 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not trying to be exempted from the blacklist. But what kind of organization is FATF, and why are some in Iran against joining it? And what is the way out of this situation?

Loading