MP John Baron urges the West to make peace with Iran.
Conservative Parliament member John Baron has dismissed government fears of Iran possessing a nuclear weapon and urged an approach towards diplomacy and peace to end disputes between the country and the West.
Speaking exclusively to the Asian World newspaper, the MP for Basildon and Billericay also told us that a military strike on Iran might result in a regional war.
The former soldier insists that there is little evidence to suggest that Iran has a nuclear weapon.
“There is no concrete evidence that Iran is producing nuclear weapons, nor is there any evidence of a decision to do so,” he told us.
Mr Baron warned that acting on suspicions is a mistake that the US and the UK made in Iraq and reports based on intelligence are not always accurate.
“Intelligence reports and circumstantial evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction proved false. As a result, we went to war on a false premise. We must learn from our mistakes now and our lesson is to look carefully at evidence before taking action,” he added.
But Mr Baron assures that an attack against Iran will not happen, unless the US gives Israel the go-ahead.
He also warned that an attack will only anger Iran and prompt possible retaliation.
“The last thing we want is for a military strike on Iran because it would only unite her in fury.”
Mr Baron urges Iran and the West to put their differences aside and work towards co-operation.
“There were opportunities missed on both sides. Iran turned her back on President Obama’s offer of talks and no-one can condone their human rights record.
However, the West must share the blame. After 9/11, Iran was one of the first nations to express solidarity with the United States, in contrast to many in the Middle East street. She also made overtures during the early stages of the Afghan War. However, her reward was to be declared part of the “Axis of Evil” by President Bush. This led directly to the removal of the reformist President Khatami. Despite this, Iran’s further attempts at cooperation followed in the run-up to the Iraq war but these were similarly rebuffed. If both the West and Iran admit their mistakes and co-operate, we can then work towards diplomacy and peace.”
The politician said that co-operation must come about through the West recognising Iran’s power.
“We need to recognise Iran’s status in the region – a status we created ourselves by our misguided invasion of Iraq, which altered the regional balance of power.”
Mr Baron also said that the West must also replicate President Nixon’s attempts at peacemaking in China in the 1970s, which led to positive relations between the country and the US.
“The West should recognise this new status in the same way President Nixon did with China. In the 1960s, when the US presence in Asia was waning and China was beginning to flex her muscles, Nixon did not respond by denying the reality of Chinese power. His visit to China in 1972 took everyone by surprise, but it was the right decision.”
Speaking about what the US should do, Mr Baron said that the United States must put aside problems between itself and Iran.
“I believe the US should put behind it the underlying antagonism of the last 30 years which defines this crisis. It needs to make clear an Israeli attack would be disastrous, and then better engage with Iran.”
“It is in Israel’s long-term interest that this happens. As I have mentioned before, no-one can condone Iran’s human rights record and involvement in terrorism, but these are not justifications for war. We cannot judge other nations in black and white terms – there are plenty of greys. War should be the last resort and at the moment, we have not exhausted all other options.”
