The triple calamity in Japan is said, by some, to have drawn attention away from the events in the Middle East and North Africa. That is certainly the case for two of the terrible events that struck Japan: the earthquake and tsunami. However, the nuclear accident should have led our attention back to the Middle East and the Mediterranean region.
Japan’s nuclear accident does not appear to be as bad as the one that haunted central and eastern Europe in the wake of the 1986 accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The latter accident had generated a cloud of poison that entered the food chain.
No such cloud has been created in Japan. The accident seems more containable. Even so, reports suggest the water and milk supply may be contaminated. Midweek, the governor of Tokyo warned against tap water being used with powdered milk for babies.
It is entirely right, therefore, that many governments, such as Germany’s, are reviewing their policy for nuclear energy. But should we not also be encouraging non-European governments to do the same?
Thus, when I met Hossein Karimi, Iran’s Deputy Ambassador to Belgium, last week, I suggested to him (in writing as well as conversationally) that the Japanese experience proves that nothing is foolproof. I humbly put it to him the Japanese crisis has given Iran a unique opportunity to reconsider its nuclear programme and to have meaningful discussions on its energy needs and the investment required to meet them in alternative ways.
I am in a position to understand something about Iran’s stand on nuclear energy. My visit two years ago gave me some insight into two aspects that are seldom mentioned in Western discussions of Iran.
Iran usually evokes images of religious fanaticism and black-clad women. As anyone who has visited Iran will testify, however, that is a very small part of the picture. Iran’s grandeur and delicate cultural heritage will take anyone’s breath away.
The cities of Tehran, Isfahan and Persepolis all show the legacy of a civilisation built on a code of refinement and polite etiquette (indeed, another similarity with Japan). The legacy is evidenced not just in people’s manners but also in tree-lined boulevards with centre and side strips containing hundreds of topiaries (most cut in the shape of birds), in grand mosques, in public spaces dominated by green lawns, terracotta arched shops and dazzling turquoise domes surrounded by blue-patterned designs.
Does this have anything to do with nuclear energy? I think so. The grandeur of the past supplies ambitions for the future. Historic glory would not have been possible if Iran (or, rather, Persia) had not been a regional power. We should not underestimate the degree to which Iran’s commitment to developing nuclear energy is driven by a desire to be recognised and respected as a major power in the region.
There is the second aspect. While in the Shiraz, I had a wide-ranging conversation with Hasan, the taxi driver who was my guide. Shiraz was not a poor region but neither was it rich. Indeed, Hasan described everything as expensive. Including electricity.
Electricity? Iran has the second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia, I replied. But Hasan explained that Iran has a much larger population and is involved in many regions beyond its borders. This, he explained, was a drain on its income.
Iran’s various regional involvements were not just about pursuing past glory. They also had to do with a present sense of insecurity. The drive to develop nuclear energy is therefore also connected with making electricity cheaper for the population, while leaving oil as a generator of foreign currency. However, its nuclear programme then generated more international anxiety about Iran, which, in turn, generated more Iranian insecurity… A vicious circle.
And some of the tension showed. With other people I tried to discreetly raise the topic of nuclear energy but none of those I talked to were willing to take the bait. I would start on asking the price of electricity consumption and so forth but the conversation would not proceed further. I am sure they were aware of the sensitivity of the nuclear issue. No one brought up the subject.
Somehow, we must find a way of breaking the vicious circle. Of course, the burden should not lie only with Europe and the US. As the note I passed on to the deputy ambassador indicated, Iran has to engage in its own reflections.
Iran is not alone. Many other Arab countries, including several Mediterranean ones, have nascent nuclear programmes (or plans) for civil energy purposes. Whether they will be continued in the wake of the current troubles is unclear.
Europe should reach out with meaningful discussions about alternative investments. Japan’s calamity points out why.
Dr Attard Montalto is a Labour member of the European Parliament.