Shayan Ghajar

Many commentators characterized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Conference yesterday as “confrontational,” angry and defiant, saying Ahmadinejad used the occasion to “lash out” at the West. In almost any other speech by the controversial Iranian president, these descriptions would certainly ring true. Yesterday’s speech, however, was anything but bombastic when compared to previous rhetoric against the West. In fact, Iran viewed it as nothing short of conciliatory.

As always, Ahmadinejad’s speech has received much coverage in the Iranian press. Unusually, however, the emphasis in its coverage is focused not on criticizing the West, but rather on ways to reconcile Iran with other members of the NPT.

PressTV, Iran’s state-owned English language news service, published an interview and analysis regarding Ahmadinejad’s speech with Abolfazl Zohrevand, Deputy Head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. As the interview is featured on a state news agency, and features a high-ranking security official, it represents nothing short of an official statement, and accurately portrays the intentions of Iran’s government at the NPT conference.

Zohrevand says Iran views Ahmadinejad’s speech as a “turning point” in Iran’s approach to the NPT Conference. Ahmadinejad’s attendance, rather than that of a foreign minister, was a signal that Iran takes the NPT very seriously, says Zohrevand. Disagreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency, he indicates, are a result of Iran’s frustration rather than apathy. Iran feels that “the international system has become a hierarchical system, and you see that [Western] countries consider themselves to be superior to others due to their possession of a nuclear arsenal.”

This perceived double standard formed the basis for Ahmadinejad’s speech (full transcript) to the NPT Conference. “Nuclear weapons states enjoy exclusive rights and privileges at the highest international decision-making body and in the IAEA,” Ahmadinejad argued.

Rather than intending this as an excuse to dismiss pressure from the IAEA, as in the past, Iran now seems to be trying to play to the rank-and-file members of the NPT by calling for more transparency and equality. Appealing to developing nations’ potential disenchantment with the hierarchy of international relations, Ahmadinejad said, “None of the non-nuclear states has ever been able to enjoy its inalienable and legal rights for the peaceful use of nuclear energy without facing pressures or threats.”

Zohrevand directly admits that this is an appeal for support from nations in the Non-Aligned Movement. Iran is appealing to concerns by nuclear or aspiring nuclear nations such as Brazil, Algeria and Indonesia, that are anxious about their future treatment in light of the pressures on Iran.

There are already signs that this approach may be working in Iran’s favor. Egypt, one of Iran’s regional rivals, and a founder of the Non-Aligned Movement, has spoken out against the double standard in NPT implementation with regards to Israel. “If major countries wish to address Iran’s nuclear dossier, they can do that by bringing Israel and Iran to the negotiating table,” said Egypt’s ambassador to the United Nations, Maged Abdelaziz. Egypt has traditionally been a regional ally of the United States.

Indonesia, another member of the Non-Aligned Movement, and also a country that has warm relations with the United States, has made the same argument. Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Raden Natalegawa, stated: “Nuclear proliferation threats, wherever their source, must be effectively addressed without discrimination and double standard on the basis of multilateralism and international law.” In an apparent jab at the United States, Natalegawa said Indonesia finds it difficult to rationalize nuclear energy cooperation with states already possessing nuclear weapons.

Marwan Bishara of Al Jazeera posits that many Non-Aligned states are responding positively to Iran’s arguments, or at least negatively to the perceived nuclear double standard. The closer a nation’s ties with the United States, Bishara argues, the less pressure it is subject to regarding proliferation despite violations of the NPT. Bishara, too, cites Israel as a significant obstacle to America’s credibility, as well as India and Pakistan’s preferential treatment relative to Iran and North Korea. Bishara argues for nuclear-free regions, especially the Middle East, as the most unbiased and productive way to promote global nuclear safety.

Ahmadinejad made one more gesture to non-Western nations and the IAEA on Monday, re-affirming Iran’s agreement with the terms of the proposed fuel swap. The fuel swap would outsource Iran’s enrichment to nations such as Russia, providing a way to ensure no nuclear material is enriched enough to be weapons-grade. “Iran had accepted the deal. Now, we announce once again that we agree with it,” Ahmadinejad emphasized.

In coming weeks it will become more apparent whether Iran has genuinely accepted a compromise, or if it simply throwing up another smokescreen.