Iran ’s mature Response;
 
Tehran response has been measured and well structured, with Its newly elected President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad , with little exposure to foreign audience and media earlier coming out very well in spite of the usual Western cacophony to demonize any one , who is not with them ( during the Cold war India was not with them ) . The emphasis was primarily to tell Iran's domestic audience that everything was firmly under control of President Ahmedinejad.

President Ahmedinejad told a cabinet meeting that the resolution was 'politically motivated' and was at the behest of 'certain big powers.' He also rejected any demands on Iran's nuclear program beyond the obligations and commitments undertaken by Iran under existing international treaties and agreements.
He added that Iran's reaction would be based on 'reason, patience and perseverance.' This “should assure the international community that Tehran would not resort to any knee-jerk, theatrical moves but would remain logical and conciliatory even while firmly asserting its legitimate rights as a sovereign country and its national dignity and national interests. “It was also a pointer directed at Iran's domestic audience that this was an issue that was not of the stuff of polemics but of extreme gravity demanding patient professional handling, which should not lend itself to public grandstanding. “

He reposed his faith in Iranian diplomacy as the best instrument of handling this issue. This was a signal to the international community that Iran would focus on diplomatic means– “ lest there be confusing signals as to the authoritative voices to be heeded in Tehran. It was aimed at dispelling any misconceptions in domestic public opinion that the resolution signified any professional failure or inadequacies on the part of the Iranian foreign ministry or the National Security Council. “

Then came statements by the chief of the Iranian judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi - Shahroudi, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larjani, and the official spokesman of the Iranian foreign ministry, Hamid-Reza Asefi.

In a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday Ali Larijani ruled out any likelihood of Iran shutting down the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan as demanded by the resolution, while reaffirming Iran's continued adherence to the NPT and the Additional Protocol (despite some radical demands by members of Majlis that Iran should jettison such commitments).

'We will not make any hasty decision. Majlis will examine the MPs' proposal to suspend the Additional Protocol. For the present, nothing has been decided. Of course, our reaction will depend on what the Europeans do next,' he said.

Larijani added that the resolution did not mean that Iran's nuclear issue was being referred to the UN Security Council, but expressed unease that an 'atmosphere of ambiguity' had been created. Iran, he warned, could not be expected to give in to 'extortion.'

He felt that the European powers or the US would not take the extreme step of referring the matter to the UN Security Council, as it would have serious consequences for regional stability. Instability in the region will hurt Western countries , because of Iran's capability to influence the situation in Iraq, West Asia, the oil market, and on other issues.

Iran would now carefully watch how individual countries behave and take appropriate measures .Tehran would not hesitate to 'revise its relations with any country which may adopt a harsh stance toward Iran or try to impose arbitrary conditions on Iran' over the nuclear issue , warned Larjani.

He regretted the UK position ( although demonstrations have been allowed in front of British Embassy in Tehran adding that 'what the UK did in the IAEA Board was contrary to the outcome of our talks with them.'  Basically Larijani said that Iran was ready to go back to the negotiating table with the EU-3 (Britain, Germany and France) . The Iranians have survived Arabs , Turks , Mongols , British and Americans and know how to handle them all.

Iran on India’s Vote ;

Larijani expressed disappointment and a sense of hurt rather than anger at India’s vote with USA. He said: 'India was our friend. We did not expect India to do so. (But) I believe that friends should not be judged by a single action. Iran enjoys friendly relations with India. Of course, we have complaints about their behavior.' The Iranian embassy in New Delhi denied reports in the Indian media that Indian- Iranian cooperation in the energy sector would be affected following the Indian vote .

US Allies Pakistan and Turkey;
 
After 911 , when afraid of Pakistan’s nukes falling into Jihadis hands , USA gave Hobson’s choice to Pakistani strong man Gen Pervez  Musharraf , who became an ally against terror .But before that when the Pakistanis were treated with disdain , like a short tough lecture visit by US President Bill Clinton to Islamabad ,after 4 days stay in India , Pakistanis complained that after using Pakistan as French letter to enter Afghanistan, USA had thrown it away .How ever , with a more focused and planned policy , with a better understanding of strategic changes , Pakistan has now USA running in circles and on a wild goose chase for Osama bin Laden , Taliban leadership and its members .
 
The relationship between NATO allies USA and Turkey erupted into a full-blown crisis on March 1 , 2003 when the Turkish parliament rejected a government resolution to allow the US to use Turkish territory as a base to open a second front in north Iraq. In any case, the parliament vote was simply a reflection of strong public opposition to the war in Turkey. Polls showed that 90 percent of Turks were opposed to a war against Muslim Iraq, perhaps the only traditional friend among neighbors.
 
Matters were made worse by what the Turks felt was American bullying during negotiations over the terms of the proposed deal and its patronizing and sometimes scurrilous coverage in the US media. Washington had offered an aid package of US$15 billion, which could have been leveraged into loans worth $26 billion. Nevertheless, the terms and conditions of the proposed agreement were unclear and the US attitude was brash.

Soon after the sudden collapse of Iraqi resistance at the gates of Baghdad on April 9, neo-conservatives embedded in the Pentagon and elsewhere came down heavily on Turkey for its March refusal. The first tongue lashing after “Mission accomplished “ came from Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz,( now President of the World Bank)  who asked Turkey to admit to its mistake and take remedial measures. He was harsh on the Turkish armed forces, berating them for not pressurizing parliament harder to vote for the resolution and not "playing the strong leadership role that we would expect".  Others in Washington conveyed the same insulting message, albeit a bit more politely.

Turkish leaders rebuffed Wolfowitz criticism. "Turkey, from the very beginning, never made any mistakes, and has taken all the necessary steps in all sincerity," said Turkish Prime minister Recep Tayep Erdogan. Government spokesman Cemil Cicek said that the US should have admitted its mistakes because Washington had not fully kept its promises to Turkey, which cost it tens of billions in US dollars, in return for its cooperation in the 1991 Gulf War. Deniz Baykal, leader of the opposition Republican People's Party (RPP) in parliament, said, "Turkey is a democratic country and everybody who appreciates the functioning of true democracy should respect this." Barring some , the Turkish media gave hell to USA.
 
The guerillas of Marxist Kurdish Workers party (PKK) , in USA’s banned list remain free in north Iraq under US control . In spite of written and oral promises to Turkey they have not been eliminated or brought under control .They now openly carry out terrorist acts inside  Turkey .Some thing  like terror groups in Pakistan , which carry out attacks in Kashmir and India.
 
To some extent one can blame Indian media, which remains as introverted as its polity, little noticing the geopolitical changes taking place in the world. An Indian minister after the end of the 1975-77 emergency rule said that the Indian media, when asked to bend crawled.  Many are swayed and almost brainwashed by temptations offered by US and other countries .They just repeat and reiterate the position of US media that is nothing but the propaganda arm of corporate interests, whose nominees carry out instructions in Washington.
 
To a large extent the fault lies with the Indian political system which is getting more and more fractured and reduced to a system where leaders with 10 or 15  members of Parliament, without even a concept of national policy, forget about international affairs ,decide on formation of governments and its policies   Commentators like Prem Shankar Jha bemoaned during Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Washington , how the Indian media took little notice of the coming Iran vote, something which would not only affect the international strategic equations but India too.  Little notice has been taken of Russia and China combining together with the Central Asian states and stopping rampaging the US led West in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, USA has agreed to dismantle its base K2 in Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan is creating obstacles for US base and Russia is moving in. In these days of long-range missiles , their capitals Tashkent and Bishkek by an air are closer to Delhi then are Chennai, still not the southernmost extremity of India.  Instead the media and country is fully absorbed in the standoff between Indian cricket captain and the Australian coach. This no way India is going to ever become “Mera Bharat Mahan aka “ My Great India “

(Gajendra Singh., served as Indian Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan in1992 -96. Prior to that, he served as ambassador to Jordan (during the1990 - 91Gulf war), Romania and Senegal. He is currently chairman of the Foundation for Indo-Turkic Studies, in Bucharest. The views expressed here are his own

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