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Has Iran Beaten Its Rivals?

Has Iran Beaten Its Rivals?
folder_openVoices access_time9 years ago
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Adel al-Jabouri

Who leaves Iran for a certain period of time and then returns to it must definitely notice various changes, some of them of an economic aspect, others of a political one, and the rest is relevant to culture and society.

Has Iran Beaten Its Rivals?These changes absolutely don't reflect what is being broached or said on some political podiums and by a number of western, Arab and regional media outlets on the situation in Iran, but rather corroborate that any analysis is real and accurate if based on considering the internal action of the Iranian street.

Almost one year ago, when the European Union imposed economic sanctions on Iran and banned oil importation from it, the Iranian national currency regressed. Concerns prevailed in the Iranian street and amid the political milieus, noting that the issue of embargo and sanctions, in addition to the numerous pressures by the West, is not new for Iran. In fact, it has been facing them since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in spring 1979.

This time, it was clear that the West, namely the US, France and Britain, had been seeking to force Iran to change its position from the Syrian crisis, this position that had majorly contributed to thwarting the regional-western scheme aimed to topple the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Nonetheless, the western-European plan was doomed to failure for many reasons, for Iran doesn't depend on oil as a sole income source, adopts a self-sufficiency policy, is able to find alternative markets worldwide to sell its oil, and is linked to international and regional influential allies.

Iran's cleaving to Syria

Tehran maintained its position from Damascus. The new sanctions did not affect it more than the previous ones, and its presence in the general regional scene has become more expanded. Moreover, its diplomacy with the international powers regarding its nuclear program was very successful, even distinguished.

In Iran, you rarely find imported products. Potato chips, food, transportation means, electrical products and electronics, construction materials and furniture, as well as electricity production facilities are all made indoor.
Iran's Financial Tribune daily has indicated that Iran's revenues from non-petroleum products reached USD 15 billion in July. This is a considerable figure while analyzing Iran's economic reality and the magnitude of the impact of the economic sanctions on it.

Despite the concerns and complaints in Iran, and the regression of the markets' activity, the features of economic stability, construction, reconstruction and development are crystal clear to everybody everywhere.

An Iranian economic expert says that the success of Iran in buffeting the foreign economic sanctions owes to the variety of alternatives and options, whether on the level of economy, foreign relations, or the country's unswerving positions.
Perhaps the access to power of Sheikh Hassan Rouhani in summer 2013 harbingered the possibility for Tehran to free itself from some pressures. Indeed, the success of the Iranian negotiator in scoring gains on the level of the nuclear dossier has added to Iran's assets and rendered the European economic sanctions insignificant.

Furthermore, the victory of President Bashar al-Assad in the presidential polls, the fiasco of ISIL scheme to take over Iraq, the many gains reaped by the Houthis in Yemen, the failure of the Zionist entity in it war on Gaza, the consistency of the Russian-Iranian-Chinese-Syrian-Iraqi axis versus the US-British-Saudi-Turkish-Qatari one, and Hizbullah, all bolstered the status, role and influence of Tehran on the regional and international scenes.

In addition, the signals leveled by the US administration and KSA concerning Tehran, and the keenness of other sides like Turkey, Qatar and UAE, on curbing further severance of ties with Iran, mirrored the truth behind Tehran's reasonable and moderate policies and the failure of all options that were sought to isolate and marginalize the Islamic Republic.

Tehran didn't change its policies with the departure of former president Mahmoud Ahmedijnejad and the advent of Sheikh Hassan Rouhani. It didn't relinquish its principles. This is what Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei has repeatedly corroborated on many occasions. This is what many political and spiritual leaders in Tehran and Qom have also confirmed. What has changed is the way of dealing with problems and crises, nothing more nothing less.

It would be stupidity if the western powers resorted again to the same options towards Tehran, amid the same juncture and circumstances, pending different results. As a matter of fact, the economic sanctions did neither oust al-Assad nor sparked revolution against the regime. And neither did the counter-actions.
From the inside, Iran seems now to be stronger than it was expected to be, while its rivals and enemies are mulling what to do and what not to do about Tehran.
If it is a cold war, then it hasn't ended yet, albeit Iran's advanced position. And, if it is a hot war, it has certainly demonstrated that Tehran hasn't lost as yet.