‘If America wants to dominate us,we are not ready for that’

At international forums and on international treaties,we need better understanding and better coordination. We expect countries which gained independence and many of whom are members of the non-aligned movement to have their policies based on facts and come up with their own opinions and policies.

SHUBHAJIT ROY: How does Iran view the idea of reconciliation with the Taliban?

We have opposed from the very beginning the interference of foreign forces in the region. If you analyse it deeply,you will find that the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan has led to the growth of the Taliban. Iran did not participate in the recent London Conference on Afghanistan despite an invitation from the British Foreign Secretary to our Foreign Minister. Iran had participated in the Tokyo and Moscow conferences (on Afghanistan). But we thought London was not the right place for the conference and that the decision had already been fixed so that even if we did not want to vote for the resolution,our presence would have been counted as our consent to that resolution (which,among other things,called for confirmation of a significant increase in international forces to support the training of Afghan forces). We did not think it would help in stabilising the situation. We believe that Afghanistan’s national forces and an alliance of all those forces can control the situation. The regional countries can support the government in stabilising the situation and in the reconstruction of the country.

MANU PUBBY: India and Iran have a convergence of interests in Afghanistan and one of the things in common is trade. What is happening on the Chabahar port and the road links?

India and Iran had been running projects in Afghanistan very well. But foreign forces have tried their best to see that Iran does not to play an important role there. But because of our relations with the Afghan government and the people,we have successfully implemented many projects—constructing roads and buildings and holding training programmes. As for the Chabahar port,we had talks with Indian companies and a memorandum of understanding was signed. As soon as they wanted to implement the project,it was discovered that some parts of the port were part of a free trade zone but the sea port was not part of that free zone. For that reason,Indian companies did not come forward to implement the MoUs. Almost two years have gone by and conditions have changed. In the last six months,the Iranian government has approved making the sea port a part of this free trade zone. It is expanding the port. We do expect that the MoUs will be implemented soon.

PRANAB DHAL SAMANTA: Has Iran come to the conclusion that the Non-Proliferation Treaty is not a comfortable treaty to stay with?

The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is a technical agency related to the United Nations. All phases of our nuclear programme have been under the scanner of IAEA. Since we had extended cooperation to the IAEA,we expect that it should not play politics. It should concentrate on the technical aspects only. We wish to proceed under the supervision of IAEA for future phases. We feel that having nuclear energy is the right of every country. But many countries don’t go into facts and allege that Iran is running a nuclear arms programme. We expect all countries to come forward to help resolve the issue peacefully. Iran has progressed not only in the nuclear field but in many other renewable energy sectors. We have been working satisfactorily in solar and wind energy and many of our research centres in Iran are working on alternative energy programmes. We do expect to cooperate and expect cooperation from other countries in these sectors. NPT too should be used to supervise the nuclear sector and not for playing politics. So everything depends on how NPT works.

COOMI KAPOOR: Why is the US blacklisting Iran? Is it the nuclear programme or is there something more to it?

The world used to be divided into two zones,East and West. Iran,geopolitically,is in a very good position. We bridge west and east from the Indian Ocean to the Caspian Sea. When America decided to come to this region,they selected Iran. The Shah of Iran was in their hands and they got a lot of benefits,both in terms of economics and politics. After the Revolution,they became a big enemy of Iran. We neither want to be a dominant power nor do we want to be dominated. But America always wants to have its dominance. And when it felt that all its benefits were being cut off,it was bent upon opposing the Islamic Revolution. Many of the internal fights in Iran were supported by the Americans. They wanted to label Iran as a society that was unprincipled. You have seen that throughout the eight-year-long war in Iraq,we have only defended our nation; we haven’t entered Iraq. Today,America cannot control either Iran or the region. We have said many times that we want relations based on equality. We do not have any enmity towards the American people. But if their government wants to dominate us,we are not ready for that.

ANUBHUTI VISHNOI: There are many Iranian students in India and there are many others who are seeking visas. Have you taken up the issue of delayed visas with the Indian authorities?

We have had students from Iran in India for the last 100 years. I was a student in India about 30 years ago. The levels of studies have changed. Earlier we used to come here for bachelor degrees but now students come here for post-graduation and research. Today,Iranian students are studying in different countries,including India,doing post-graduation and research. But the visa process in India for research students takes longer than normal. In some cases,the delay is more than six months. We hope that India will resolve this issue. The Iranian government prefers to send our students to Asian universities rather than European or western universities because we have a common culture with Asian countries.

MANU PUBBY: What does Iran make of the attacks on Indians in Kabul? Do you attribute them to a particular country or an agency?

We have openly condemned any terror attack in any part of the world. India and Iran have both suffered terrorist attacks. After the arrival of foreign forces in Afghanistan,terrorist forces have grown in different countries. Our consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif also came under a terrorist attack. We believe that support to any of these terrorist groups is not in the interests of the region. We should all work together against these terrorist groups.

MANU PUBBY: In the coming years,will military cooperation between Iran and India be in the public domain?

We have had cooperation between our defence forces but in recent years,the cooperation has been at a low level. Three years ago,there was a defence delegation from Iran to India but so far we have had no response from the Indian side.

AMITABH SINHA: Last year’s elections in your country were accompanied by large-scale protests during and after they were held. It is said that Iran does not allow independent voices.

The elections saw more than 85 per cent of eligible voters exercise their franchise. This indicates people’s support to the current government system. But after the election results were announced,complaints from different candidates resulted in sporadic violence. The street protests were not peaceful,they have damaged public property. So the government was forced to stop the protest marches and some incidents took place. By the end of December,people protested and also supported the election process. On February 11,the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution,people took part in mass marches in support of the Revolution. We have concluded that during times of turmoil,there has been foreign interference. Some people working in two or three different embassies in Tehran were found to have been involved in those protest marches. So we understood that people were provoked by the foreign missions.

PRIYANKA SINGH: What do you think of the Women’s Reservation Bill in India? Is there something similar in Iran?

According to our Constitution,women can avail of all the opportunities in the country. Before the Revolution,Iranian women had fewer opportunities. They were also less literate. Now their percentage has increased in education and the services sectors. Today 65 per cent students in Iranian universities are women. The life span of Iranian women before the Revolution was 56 years; now it’s 73 years. Today,we have eight members of parliament who are women and three ministers.

SHEKHAR GUPTA: You wanted India to launch a satellite for you. What is the status?

The activities between the two countries should be more than they are now. The basic needs of the two countries are gas,petrol,tea,etc. If we are looking at the two countries in strategic terms,we have to expand in spheres such as science and technology,bio-technology,renewable energy and space.

SHEKHAR GUPTA: Is the satellite for domestic use,not military?

It is for domestic purposes and telecommunications.

AMITAV RANJAN: On the gas pipeline,the strategy now at the Ministry of External Affairs as well as at India’s National Security Council is that we avoid the Pakistan part altogether and take the deep sea route from the Iran-Pakistan border. What is the thinking in Tehran on this?

We believe that this pipeline,which will pass through these three countries,can be considered and will prove to be a peace pipeline. Despite signing an agreement with Pakistan,we are still trying to see that India be given space in the project. But I have said repeatedly that this opportunity is not open-ended and maybe there will be no chance for India to join. As for the deep-sea pipeline,this was discussed about ten years ago. All the studies proved that the project would be expensive and technology would be a problem. But now technology has progressed and there are more ways to bring the pipeline through the deep-sea route. But it is still not economically viable. Discussions can be held on the deep-sea project but I understand that this will take too long. We feel that discussions should go on but there should be a time limit to them. We are ready to help.

Transcribed by Sweta Dutta