Europe’s anti-Iran ...
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The British, in their assessments, have concluded that Moscow wants to consolidate its successes in the occupied territories and will launch an attack on other parts of Ukraine in late 2024 or early 2025, and therefore believe that Ukraine should be further armed.
Another notable point is that in previous cases, when a claim was made against Iran and Russia and was true, Iran or Russia would confirm it. However, in this case, both sides have strongly denied the allegations, and even Ukrainian President Zelensky has stated that he has not seen any evidence confirming Iran’s missile transfer to Russia and their use against Ukraine. Therefore, the coincidence of the claims against Iran with the West’s decision to provide more aid to Ukraine is noteworthy.
As expected, Europe did not welcome the victory of a reformist president in Iran. In fact, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, did not attend the president’s inauguration ceremony. Perhaps they wanted to show that the war in Ukraine is very important to them, even more important than the Gaza war, and that as long as the war in Ukraine and Iran’s support for Russia continue, there will be no change in Europe’s policy towards Iran.
On the other hand, European think tanks claim that Iran is no longer a regional threat, but has become a trans-regional power or threat. While this may be pleasing to some in Iran, we must not forget that the threats from the US during George W. Bush’s era, when Iran was labeled an “axis of evil,” were not a good experience.
In their rivalry with China, and in order to convince public opinion and establish that Beijing is a serious threat to the American and Western interests, the Americans dragged Iran and North Korea into the argument. European public opinion did not believe the claims that China or Russia were threats to Europe before Russia’s war on Ukraine, but now they are convinced that Russia is a threat to Europe.
Therefore, Iranian politicians and foreign policy decision-makers must be vigilant and not allow such an image of Iran as a serious threat to be created. These claims and actions can be the prelude to more dangerous and larger actions against Iran. Iranian politicians must convince the global opinion that Iran is not a threat to any country, and that its relations with China and Russia do not spell confrontation with the West. The policy of Iran, and especially the new government, is one of balance.