Egyptian Council of Foreign Affairs head Mohamed Shaker ruled out a military solution to Iran’s controversial nuclear program during a TV interview on Dream satellite channel.
Military action would be a grave mistake, and would not serve US interests, which is fully engaged in Afghanistan and currently pulling out of Iraq, Shaker told “Dou Ahmar” (Red Light), hosted by journalist Suleiman Gouda.
Shaker, a former ambassador to Britain and Austria, argued that Iran’s nuclear program is coming under strong international pressure. He said the last UN Security Council sanctions on Tehran put restrictions on travel and imposed greater scrutiny over its facilities.
He instead favors a suggestion which he has promoted at international seminars and written about in the US press, which is to “acclimatize Iran’s sensitive activities.” The idea, Shaker explained, involves states monitoring each other’s activities, while the IAEA oversees all states.
According to Shaker, this is the best means to avoid military engagement with Iran and spare the region an eruption of violence. He added that his proposal would also better help Arab-Iranian relations. “The problem is with the Iranian ruling regime, which does not appeal to the West,” he said.
Asked whether the problem lies in Iran’s Muslim identity, Shaker said, “The issue is rather with its adoption of a hard-line trend which may prompt the West and the US to depose the regime, but this too will not help, since it would render the Iranian people more supportive of their regime. In the midst of the chaos expected in this case, some nuclear facilities might be destroyed.”
Shaker also commented on the recent political controversy generated by calls for former IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei as a presidential nominee in 2011. He said he had followed ElBaradei’s performance during his work at the agency, and saw that he did not make any mistakes and adopted an honorable stance toward the invasion of Iraq.
Shaker stressed the right of Egyptians to step forward for nomination, but declined to state whether ElBaradei is a suitable candidate for the presidency.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
