Expert: Iran not ready for new confrontation in region

Faced day by day with serious domestic political and other problems, including both water and energy crises, the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot enter into a new tension in the region, Umud Shokri, Washington-based senior foreign policy and energy geopolitics advisor, told Report.

He was commenting on recent statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the need to take action against radical Islam in the region and counter Tehran’s plans to acquire nuclear weapons.

“Israel always closely monitors Iran’s military programs, including its nuclear-missile and drone programs. When the JCPOA was signed in 2015 and after the war, Iran’s regional policy did not change and Iran continued to support proxy groups, Israel's security concerns increased.

Netanyahu’s recent statements about the possibility of revitalizing the Iran nuclear deal also show that Israel’s security concerns have not yet been resolved. In line with its national interests, Israel is trying to prevent any agreement that conflicts with the national interests of this country in the future. Currently, Iran cannot give a specific reaction to Netanyahu’s statements,” Shokri noted.

“Iran’s tense foreign policy and the continuation of Iran’s nuclear program have caused the nuclear negotiations to stop, Iran has not answered the questions of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and since September and after the death of Mahsa Amini, the conditions for the continuation of nuclear negotiations and the new agreement. It has become more difficult. Any attack by the proxy groups in the region on the energy infrastructure of the countries as well as Israel’s interests will isolate Iran. Iran’s economic conditions are getting worse day by day. Ebrahim Raisi is faced with many problems in Iran, from the energy-water crisis to the new peak of coronavirus, and he cannot enter into a new tension in the region.”