In spite of the outcry by American lawmakers and the Israeli prime minister against the comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran, there has been a dramatic development over the deal. There has been a flurry of visits from Germany, France and Italy at the ministerial level. On top of these visits was that of British foreign secretary Philip Hammond to Tehran on August 23 to reopen the British embassy. The foreign secretary was accompanied by a group of business personalities from the Royal Dutch Shell, Energy and Mining Services Company, Amec Foster Wheeler and Scottish engineering firm Weir group. While reopening the embassy, the British foreign secretary said, "We want to ensure that the nuclear deal is a success."
The visit of the British foreign secretary gives a slap on the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to visit London some time in September to pursue the British government against the deal with Iran. Although Britain has invited Netanyahu, as many as 85,000 petitions were submitted to the British parliament to arrest him on charge of murdering innocent children of Palestine during the war in August, 2014. However, the British authorities have assured Netanyahu that no arrest warrant would be issued because as head of the government, he enjoys immunity.
Debate in the US is raging on the nuclear deal with Iran and will continue until the Congress decides about it by September 17.
Almost all Republican presidential candidates in unison have begun criticising the nuclear deal with Iran. Meanwhile, organised by Move on.org, a national coalition of non-profit activist organisations, brought out a rally on August 26 in front of Senator Mark Warner's office in Vienna of Virginia urging him to support the Iran nuclear deal. Senator Mark Warner, one of the very few Democrats, did not come out to support the deal. The rally, which was attended by about 60 people, was part of a National Day of Action that featured 200 other similar rallies across the US. Move on.org activists argue that the existing terms of the deal are the best possible ones under the circumstances and that the Congress needs to at least give it a chance to see if it works.
Senator Claire McCaskill opines that if the Congress does not go with the rest of the world powers for finding a solution to the nuclear deal with Iran, the US will be isolated in the world which will not bring any benefit to the Americans. She felt that somehow or other, Iran will get back its blocked money. Her views were expressed in an interview with MSNBC TV network on August 30. Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat, on September 2 in her support for the deal has become the 34th member of the Senate to do so which would help the President to dodge the Republican-led effort to kill the deal.
Burch, a Bishop for the Catholic Dioceses of One Spirit, says he believes accepting the deal will open up diplomatic pathways for better communication between the US and Iran. On the other hand, 29 members of the Organisation of Iranian-American Communities (OIAC) held a rally calling upon Senator Mark Warner to reject the deal. This organisation, which works to promote human rights and democratic freedom for the people of Iran, believes the deal was very weak. Signing of the agreement as it is right now will bring for Iranians more harassment, more killings and more executions. This was stated at a rally by Shirin Nariman, an OIAC member and former Iranian political prisoner.
According to CNN report, the Democrats have picked up enough Congressional support for the Iranian deal to allow Obama to veto a resolution that rejects the agreement. Attention is now focused on deliberations in the Congress as to whether the deal will remain or derail.
The writer is a retired diplomat from Bangladesh.
amjad.21@gmail.com
