The Prague Post
December 5th, 2008
Prague Property

Delegation seeks thaw with Tehran

Lawmakers float idea of canceling law on Iranian nuclear plant

By Peter Kononczuk
 Staff Writer, The Prague Post
Feb. 17, 2005


Lawmakers who want to improve relations with Tehran have told Iranian officials this country could cancel a law that forbids Czech firms from helping construct a nuclear power plant in Iran. At a time when the Islamic republic is under pressure over its nuclear program, such a move could irritate the United States.

But the prospects of the Czech law being lifted appeared to recede after Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda reportedly came out against the step, which was proposed by a delegation that recently made a trip to Iran.

Some parliamentarians argue that the Czech law, dating from 2000, is now superfluous because after entering the EU last May, this country is bound by a European directive that forbids member states exporting any "dual-use" material to Iran that could be used to construct nuclear weapons.

The Czech delegation, the first of its kind to Iran since 1989, returned Feb. 4 after a four-day visit that included meetings with the Iranian foreign minister and the speaker of the Iranian parliament. Vladimir Lastuvka, head of the Chamber of Deputies foreign affairs committee, who was part of the four-member delegation, said this country currently has "the worst relations with Iran of the entire European Union."

Jan Kavan, a deputy for the ruling Social Democrats and a former foreign minister, said he and other members of the group suggested this country could lift the law that makes it illegal for Czech firms to help construct the Bushehr power station.

Iran's first nuclear plant is being built by Russia despite Western concerns that the project could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

"We raised this [issue of repealing the 2000 law] informally. We did not promise anything. This is a possibility in the framework of gradually improving bilateral relations," Kavan said. He added that in raising the possibility of the Czech ban being lifted, "we followed our written instructions from the Foreign Affairs Ministry. ... To my surprise I [later] read that the minister of foreign affairs said that he's very much against the cancellation of this law."

Meanwhile Lastuvka, known for his critical stance toward many U.S. foreign policies, said he sees the "contradictory" position of the Foreign Ministry "as reflecting the fact that such a move [canceling the Czech law] wouldn't be viewed positively by our greatest ally," the United States. "We will continue to discuss the matter with the Foreign Ministry," Lastuvka added.

The Iranian Embassy in Prague said in a statement that lifting the Czech ban "could have had a positive implication on bilateral relations had it not been contradicted by views expressed on this matter by the Foreign Ministry later on."

As of press time, the Foreign Ministry had not responded to a request for comment.

Iran expert Dr. Ali Ansari, of St. Andrews University in Scotland, said the United States would probably look unfavorably on any cancellation by the Czech Republic of its 2000 law. Ansari said Tehran could view such a development as a morale booster at a time when it is under international pressure to permanently end uranium enrichment. He added, however, that he doesn't think the Iranians "will make a huge deal out of it."

Iran rejects U.S. suspicions that its nuclear program is a cover for producing atomic weapons.

Radio interference

Lastuvka also said it was made clear to the Czech delegation that the reason for strained relations between Prague and Tehran was Iranians' objection to U.S.-sponsored Radio Farda, which began broadcasting to Iran in December 2002. The station is part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which is based in Prague.
IRAN MISSION

• What: Czech delegation to Tehran suggested this country could lift a law that forbids firms from helping construction of a nuclear power plant in Iran

• Why: Some lawmakers who want to improve strained relations with Tehran say the law is now redundant because EU rules forbid export of material to Iran that could be used to construct nuclear weapons

• Background: Lifting the ban could irritate the United States. Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has reportedly come out against such a step

The Iranian Embassy in Prague accused Radio Farda of attempting to "interfere in bilateral relations ... through distorting news and facts leading to misunderstandings," adding that the station "has projected a negative image of the situation and developments in Iran."

Kavan said that during his visit, Iranians "clearly wanted us to understand" that there is little hope of bilateral relations improving as long as the radio station is broadcasting.

For example, Kavan said that engineering firm Skoda Holding won a tender in a consortium with a Japanese company to supply 100 trams for Iranian cities but that the deal, worth around 160 million euros (4.8 billion Kc/$204 million), has not been carried through because of Radio Farda's broadcasts. Kavan added that the Czech delegation "made no promises or undertakings that we will do anything with the radio station. ... That's just not a mandate we had."

Joyce Davis, an associate director of broadcasting at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who is responsible for Radio Farda, said the station was not a mouthpiece for the U.S. government and its policy was to broadcast objective, balanced information. "We do not consider ourselves as hostile to the Iranian government," Davis said.

— Dan Macek contributed to this report.



Peter Kononczuk can be reached at pkononczuk@praguepost.com




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