همبستگی جهانی سندیکاها با کارگران ایران

11th April 2012

Press release
For immediate use

Solidarity organisation condemns the rush to war

The conditions and the pace at which the Islamic Republic of Iran is being made to negotiate over its nuclear energy programme means the likelihood of conflict in the region being escalated to a fullscale war footing will increase, according to the Committee for Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR).

In a statement issued in advance of the up and coming P5+1 meeting of the permanent UN Security Council members and Germany, on 15th April, CODIR has condemned the comments of US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, last Saturday. Mrs Clinton stated, after attending a security conference in Saudi Arabia, that,

"We're going in with one intention: to resolve the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear programme. Our policy is one of prevention, not containment. We are determined to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"We enter into these talks with a sober perspective about Iran's intentions. It is incumbent upon Iran to demonstrate by its actions that it is a willing partner and to participate in these negotiations with an effort to obtain concrete results."

CODIR are concerned that the Secretary of State is in danger of being seen to be too closely associated with the Israeli and Saudi Arabian regimes for any of her statements on behalf of the US government to be taken serioulsy in Tehran.

“The language of the United States sounds increasingly like the language of ultimatum”, said CODIR Assistant General Secretary, Jamshid Ahmadi. “There is no evidence that Iran is an imminent threat in terms of the level of its nuclear programme, which it continues to claim is for peaceful civilian purposes. However, the US continues to convey the impression that there is an immediate danger emanating from Tehran and this can only stoke tensions in an already sensitive part of the world.”

CODIR are also concerned that Mrs Clinton’s remarks follow closely upon the anouncement by President Barack Obama that the US is to proceed with penalties which will choke off Iran’s oil revenue while working with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to safeguard oil supplies.

CODIR regards the struggle for peace in the region as being indivisible from that of the struggle for democracy in Iran itself. Inside Iran, officially, the unemployment rate is almost 15% while the number of those living under the poverty line is more than 20% of the total population. A new super rich minority, which has its roots in the Islamic clergy and has been involved in the highest echelons of the military and state apparatus, controls state power. The regime’s political, economic and social outlooks are frighteningly backward and reactionary.

The Iranian economy is in tatters because of the economic sanctions imposed so far. CODIR is concerned that it is the Iranian people who are paying the price for the sanctions to date and will be the main victims of any conflict.

The demands to be made of Iran at the P5+1 meeting in Istanbul, to shut its underground nuclear facility at Fordo, to stop enriching uranium to 20%, and to hand over the estimated 100kg of uranium already enriched to that level, echo those pressed upon Barack Obama by Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu at a White House meeting last month.

“The framing of these demands reinforces the impression that the P5+1 meeting could be a case of the Israeli tail wagging the UN Security Council dog,” said Mr. Ahmadi, “Ironic given their own track record in obeying UN demands”, he added. “CODIR will continue to press the case for peace in the region and for negotiation to be the only way to make progress. Far from Istanbul being seen as a ‘last chance’ it should be the opportunity for peace in the Middle East to be at the top of the UN agenda and give hope to the people of Iran and the wider region.”

CODIR has called on all anti-war and peace organisations world-wide to oppose the drive to war against Iran. CODIR believes that all disputes over Iran’s nuclear programme should be resolved through negotiation, within the framework of the IAEA and in accordance with the UN Charter.

ENDS

Contact Information:-

Postal Address:
B.M.CODIR
London
WC1N 3XX
UK
Website: www.codir.net
E-mail: codir_info@btinternet.com

Further information for Editors

CODIR is the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights. It has been established since 1981 and has consistently campaigned to expose human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

CODIR has worked closely with the trades union movement in the UK, the peace movement, all major political parties and Amnesty International to press the case for an end to torture in Iran’s prisons.

CODIR has published Iran Today, its quarterly journal, since 1981, explaining the latest developments in Iran and the most effective way that the British public opinion could demonstrate its solidarity with the people of Iran.

In recent years CODIR has worked closely with Stop the War Coalition and has been vocal against any form of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of the nation.