2012: Iranian Year of Endurance

Tehran - Hassan Haidar

2012 was a year full of events of local and international impacts. The nuclear talks did not witness any progress after three rounds of the six-party talks in Istanbul, Baghdad, and Moscow on Iran's N-program.

Negotiations stagnated due to Iran's resolve of its right to Uranium enrichment faced by Western rejection and pressure on Iran to compromise for Western agendas in the region.
The Islamic Republic of Iran started 20% of Uranium enrichment two years ago after the tripartite pact of Turkish-Brazilian sponsorship known then as the Tehran Declaration failed. It had stipulated that Iran deposits 1200 kg of LEU (Low-enriched Uranium) by 3.5% in Turkey. In return, Iran was to receive 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel to be used in The Amirabad Research Reactor that treats over 800,000 cancer patients and chronic diseases through radiation.

Differences rested mainly in guarantees and delivery methods coincided with a Western delay in meeting its commitments, triggering Tehran to produce nuclear fuel in Amirabad Research Reactors, where it saw that the West was playing a ruse to excavate Uranium from Iran.
This qualitative Iranian progress, stipulated by the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), was considered a provocative move, which the world powers met with imposing stricter unilateral and international sanctions, affecting different sectors such as oil, gas, and banking sectors.
Sanctions affected Iranian trade traffic and bemused the Hard Currency, import, and export markets before markets were reorganized and the Iranian currency re-stabilized. Iran drove around sanctions through local and international procedures manifested in Tehran's secret network of relations.

Moreover, this year witnessed military threats, including "Israeli" threats against Iran. The Zionist entity warned of striking nuclear facilities and vital areas in Iran. This drove Iran's military to declare readiness for any confrontation through a series of ground, naval, and air drills, revealing a new generation of ballistic missiles and air defense systems. Also, Iranian naval ships stationed in Gulf and international waters were particularly distinctive.
Furthermore, military accomplishments this year were topped with Iran's control over US ScanEagle spy drones that flew over a nuclear facility in Bushehr Province, South Iran, and the accordance of this event with Iran's downing of a high-tech RQ 170 spy drone over the Eastern Tabas Desert.
Politically, The Islamic Republic succeeded in hosting a number of international conferences, mainly the Non-Aligned Summit, which was considered the largest political turnout in the history of Iran, where presidents, leaders, and kings of over 120 countries attended.

This broke US attempts of imposing international seclusion on Iran since the summit received Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi. It was considered the first visit of an Egyptian president since both the Iranian and Egyptian revolutions.

Likewise, Iranian political alleys held several conferences to back the Palestinian cause, Islamic awakening, and Arab revolutions. Iran's active role in the Syrian crisis was distinctive when it hosted the National Dialogue Conference in Tehran, joining both the opposition and representatives from the Syrian regime for the first time. Iran also sought participation in the quartet regional committee on the Syrian crisis that soon turned into a tripartite committee following the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's withdrawal, consisting then of only Iran, Turkey, and Egypt.

Domestically, the country held parliamentary elections that restored control over the conservative movement in the Islamic Shura Council, approved development and economic plans to face sanctions, and executed a number of huge industrial projects, turning Iran into a fuel exporter after it being one of the biggest importers. These procedures soon labeled Iran as the Resistant Economy.

The Islamic Republic will carry numerous files on the dawn of this New Year, despite Tehran's New Year celebration according to the Hijri Solar calendar on the 21st of March.
However, 2013 holds significant due dates for Iran; nuclear talks and the threats, sanctions, and negotiations they carry and the future of Western confrontation regarding the current regional issues and the war on deterring countries. Also, all eyes will turn on the 14th of June, where a new Iranian President will step into office and lead the Islamic Republic of Iran for another four years.


Source: al-Ahed News, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org