Iran: Choosing reliable trade partners

In order to fight US-Israel sponsored UNSC sanctions – the Islamic Republic has to be very careful in maintaining its trade with foreign countries based on past experience. Currently, Tehran’s leading trade partners are China, Russia, Turkey, Germany and India. All these countries have been under Washington’s pressure to boycott trade dealings with Iran especially in its oil and energy sectors. Russia and India, in the past have been found notoriously unreliable trade partners.

Tehran accepted Moscow its trade partner as result of its needs for modern technology which was denied to the country by Zionist Occupied Western governments after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Moscow, bankrupted as result of its mislead Afghan military adventure, was looking for a reliable oil-rich country to finance its dewindling industrial sector. The Tehran-Moscow relationship did not receive stamp of approval from the religious sector due to Russian crackdown in its Muslim-majority state of Chechnya.

On its part, Moscow has supported all illegal UNSC sanctions against Tehran. In reality, Moscow has successfully utilized the sanctions to woo the rich western countries. Even after its lousy past record, Tehran is still willing to use Russia as its military technology lifeline.

Russia, like the other western colonial powers, has a very notorious past dealing with its Muslim neighbors. During invasion of Afghanistan, Red Army forced over four million Afghan men, women and children to live as refugees in Iran which put tremendous economical strain on the country which just came out of an eight-year war imposed on it by the western countries. During the Iraq-Iran War, Moscow equipped Saddam’s army. During Suez Canal conflict, Russia had sided with Israel against Egypt. Moscow is on public record for saying that it doesn’t want a nuclear Iran on its southern borders.

Tehran hired Russian firms for the construction of the remaining 20% of the reactor at Bushehr originally carried-out by German firms. The Russian on their part delayed its completion on various lame excuses – long enough to ensure that the technology became obsolete. In September 2010, under US-Israel pressure, Moscow cancelled its US$1 billion worth supply of S-300 missile defense system to Iran – fearing it could be used against the invading American or Israeli fighter planes. Some western sources believe that Iran has already developed its home-made version of S-300 missile defense system. According to Iranian source, Iran has no other choice but to buy civilian aircrafts from Russia, particularly the infamous Tupolev, while Russian domestic airlines have been using a Western fleet for years.

“Iran’s economy needs an extensive and deep restructuring. But I think the oil sector should not be our priority. Agriculture and industry need further attention, while tourism is also potentially a highly lucrative source of revenue. Maybe if we focus on cooperation with the Turks –who attracted nearly 30 million tourists last year- it would pay more dividends,” said Bahram Amir-Ahmadian, a Russian affairs’ analyst, in a recent interview.

India’s relations with its neighboring Muslim nation-states have been fueled by Hindus’ hatred towards Muslims who, partly or wholly, ruled Indian sub-continent between 712-1857. This is the reason that while Indian leaders never stop in pro-Arab rhetorics – they had a secret defense pact with US-Israel since early 1970s.

In 1994, Iran and India signed a deal to build a 2,700-kilometre-long gas pipeline (IPI) at the cost of US$7.5 billion to transport Iranian gas through Pakistan to India. Dubbed as the “Peace Pipeline”, hoping that financial collaboration may bring peace between the nuclear rivals Hindutva India and Muslim Pakistan. However, the construction of the proposed pipeline could not go ahead due to Washington’s pressure on New Delhi and Islamabad. In 2009, India dropped out of the deal under Washington’s blackmail with a nuclear deal in 2008. India has record of backing-up sanctions against Tehran’s civilian nuclear program. Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh told the powerful Jewish tink tank, Council on Foreign Relations in November 2009: “So there is no ambiguity in our position. We are quite clear in our thinking that Iran should not go the nuclear weapon path – that is inconsistent with its obligations as a member of NPT“. In other words, the Hindutva leader was telling Tehran to get the hell out of the NPT and produce nuclear bomb as his country did. India, along with Israel, N. Korea and Pakistan, is non-signatory to NPT and has produced more than 100 nuclear bombs itself.

On February 20, 2011 – Neil Padukone, a strategic affairs analyst and a Fellow at Indian think tank, Observer Research Foundation’ writing in the Christian Science Monitor had recommended that Obama administration should utilize India-Iran good relation to resolve its ‘Iranian problem’. Neil Padukone cited the benefits American would gain once their administration cultivates friendly relation with the Islamic regime in Iran such as, Tehran can help to stablize both Iraq and Afghanistan; provide safe passage for supplies to the US-Nato occupation forces in Afghanistan (as the current arrangement of 70% of supplies through Pakistan is becoming more and more risky) and Iran would bring pro-Iran Afghan warlords on US side and will open a stable trade route for America to Central Asia. The rapproachment would also distance Iran from China.