The Cold Season of Iran-Europe Relations
According to Iran Gate, the recent protests in our country have also brought new developments to Iran’s foreign relations. In this context, the West, particularly European countries, have taken a harsh stance against Iran due to what they describe as human rights and democracy violations in our country, influenced by some pressures from their own public opinion.
As a result, the European Union has imposed various sanctions against Iran on several occasions, ostensibly to support human rights. Leaders of major European countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and France have also explicitly taken a strong stance against our country.
Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, and the Foreign Minister of this country have adopted aggressive positions against our country. Therefore, some observers and analysts believe that Europe, by continuing on its current path, is effectively defining its relations with Iran within a point of no return, a matter that suggests escalating tensions and disputes between Iran and Europe in the possibly near future. This issue has recently manifested itself in the form of a harsh statement by the European troika against Iran within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors meeting.
The Importance of Germany
In 2013, the British magazine The Economist wrote that Germany is reluctant to hold hegemony, but this country should take on more of a leadership role. In contrast, Erik Bonse, a reporter for the German newspaper Taz, writes that Europe means Germany. Bonse points to Germany’s significant influence in European institutions such as the Commission, the Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament.
From January to October 2022, Germany exported goods worth 12 billion euros to Iran. Its imports from Iran were about 260 million euros. Thus, Germany is the largest trading partner of Iranians in the European Union. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published an article about Iran-Germany trade relations and states that Germany is the most important trading partner of the Islamic Republic regime.
This newspaper, while stating that very brutal news is coming from Iran, wrote that Iranian authorities announced the execution of the first death sentence related to citizen protests last Monday. Mohsen Shekari, 23, was accused of injuring a Basij paramilitary force member and blocking a street in Tehran. Today, Monday, December 12, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic announced the public execution of another Iranian. It is likely that more protesters will be executed. Amid the current protests, the European Union has imposed sanctions on individuals who have committed serious human rights violations, and on Monday, December 12, these sanctions were even intensified.
Internal Crisis and Its Consequences
The internal situation in Iran has also had widespread reflections abroad and naturally has had a significant impact on public opinion, especially in Western countries. Western governments have felt the need to respond appropriately to developments in Iran. This issue, particularly with the widespread dissemination of news about Iran internationally from a human rights perspective, has taken on serious dimensions and appearances.
For years, Europeans have considered themselves the global hub of human rights, and in this framework, they cannot miss the current opportunity regarding Iran’s issues. From this perspective, we see that a range of well-known European leaders, such as the German Chancellor, the Foreign Minister of this country, as well as French and British officials, have taken positions on this matter.
The Role of the JCPOA and Moscow
The second point that should be considered as a driver of Europe’s recent harshness against Iran is the delay in reviving the JCPOA agreement. It seems that Europeans have lost hope of reaching a nuclear agreement with Tehran sooner than the Americans have. The Americans are still willing to reach an agreement with Iran despite being aware that achieving an agreement with this country has become more difficult, especially considering the rise of American Republicans in the form of the House of Representatives.
Despite this, they are still eager for an agreement because, on the one hand, they are concerned about further enrichment by Iran, and on the other hand, considering the short time until the 2024 U.S. presidential election, which, of course, with internal party competitions and other related procedures, this timeframe becomes even shorter, the Biden administration and Democrats want to present the agreement with Iran as an achievement for themselves. However, they are not going to say that we reached an agreement, and this is good.
Rather, they specifically point out that through the agreement with Iran, they prevented Iran from becoming nuclear and what is described as this country’s access to nuclear weapons. Therefore, the Americans are still willing to reach an agreement with Iran, but the Europeans have given up on this matter. When we look at the positions of senior European leaders and politicians, we realize that their emphasis is on the fact that Iran does not intend to sign an agreement.
Meanwhile, the third driver regarding Europe’s recent harsh positions on Iran is the various claims they make about Iran’s military cooperation with Russia within the framework of the Ukraine war. Europeans, who are highly sensitive about the Ukraine issue, see Tehran’s actions within the framework of the mentioned war equation as a significant detriment to themselves. They have incurred significant costs in the context of the Ukraine war and felt that they had brought Putin to a point of weakness.
However, what Europe calls Iran’s entry into the Ukraine war equation has practically changed many equations, and specifically, Iranian drones have been able to influence the course of the mentioned war. Therefore, with their recent positions against Iran, Europe is trying to stop Tehran’s cooperation with Moscow in any way possible. The three mentioned factors seem to best explain the reasons and drivers behind Europe’s recent harsh positions against Iran.