Tehran, Iran, Oct. 25
By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trend:
Upcoming visits by French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Boris Johnson to Tehran will serve their role of “the good cops”, a political expert believes.
Tehran is reportedly going to host a multiplicity of world leaders in a few days separately. Besides Macron and Johnson, Russian President Vladimir Putin and International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano are also on the list.
“Macron and Johnson will naturally play the role of the good cops, set against US President Donald Trump, to engage in talks with Tehran specifically over issues such as missiles, for which Iran is surely not ready,” Foad Izadi, a political science professor, told Trend Oct. 25.
Putin, for his part, has stood behind Iran in many occasions in past years, and his upcoming visit will come as a show of support for Tehran, the political expert noted.
The visits come a few days after Trump’s anti-Iran speech on Oct. 13, in which he said he would not be certifying Iran’s compliance with the terms of the JCPOA under a domestic American law, kicking to Congress a decision on whether to restore sanctions against Iran.
In the meantime, two US senators have drafted a legislation to force Iran to limit its missile program.
Republican senators, Bob Corker and Tom Cotton, are reportedly working on a new draft legislation that would set tough terms for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The draft sets tough new terms for the nuclear deal, including restoration of sanctions if Iran tests a ballistic missile capable of carrying a warhead or prevents nuclear inspectors from visiting any sites.
Trump did not pull Washington out of the JCPOA, but he gave Congress 60 days to decide whether to re-impose the economic sanctions against Tehran, which were lifted under the pact.