After weeks of British coercion and semi-open US support, the Grace 1 tanker came close to being released, with the Gibraltar court chief ignoring an informal US request, although efforts to re-seize it have since continued. But so far, the fragile but nonetheless acquired freedom has been made all the more thrilling and sweet by the late US request and the knot that was worked into it. This release, while very sweet, was not at all simple, and there are important points in it that require expert attention and care. Why and how Britain and its protectorate reacted becomes more important than ever when we consider the country’s unique situation and its all-encompassing and unwavering alliance with the US.
The above issue and the current release of Grace 1, without it having occurred in a simultaneous exchange with the seized British ship, is undoubtedly one of the achievements of the country's legal and political experts and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, because looking at the scene, it is found that Iran, by carefully calculating international politics, found Britain at a critical moment that is perhaps unique in the history of this country, which is the time of its exit from the European Union. Although this issue was seen from afar, considering the economic power of America, as Iran's position in the recent case, but in practice Iran was able to take advantage of it by acting in a timely manner. To the extent that beyond the issue of oil tankers, active diplomacy led the newly established British parliamentary government to conclude that tense interactions with Iran were firstly unnecessary and secondly avoidable; just as this same seizure had also occurred at the end of the previous government at the behest of the United States, and Britain felt itself a victim of this policy. The most important result of Iran's decisiveness and diplomacy on this issue for Britain and all countries observing the issue was that the dispute between Iran and the United States could be safely avoided by not attacking Iran under pressure, but simply by avoiding any tension. In fact, instead of America being able to turn the detention of Iranian tankers into a precedent with false but accessible excuses, the opposite happened, and Iran's decisive approach at every moment became a precedent in these days of international relations, and this is of course the greatest achievement. A result that can be better seen and understood if it is seen in a larger context and in light of the failure of John Bolton's clumsy trip to England with the Iran axis and his admission that it was untimely.
Of course, such clumsiness as Bolton's ill-considered trip or the late email sent to the Gibraltar government, which was accompanied by ineptitude, may seem strange at first glance from a professional American government, but it should be remembered that the strongmen always reduce their power due to their lack of feeling the need to think and be careful. Now, we must believe that the expert body of the State Department and the US government has been marginalized and is silently cooperating with the current unbridled government as little as possible.
At the same time, the sweetness of this victory should not make us lose sight of the reality of the scene: in any case, after Britain leaves Europe, the first priority of its foreign policy, economy, and trade will be to compensate for the damage caused by this exit, and this is one of the most important channels that can potentially be abused by the Donald Trump administration: one of the most important concessions that America asks its long-standing partner will certainly be a change in Britain's foreign policy approach towards the issue of Iran. This may be one of the easiest turns for this fragile government. It is as if America's neglect to consider the power of parliament in the British parliamentary government and the constant scrutiny of the government in this country caused America to miscalculate in its expectations of Boris Johnson's newly established cabinet. However, historical necessity may place even this parliament in a position where it considers distancing itself from the European Union's foreign policy on Iran, and especially the JCPOA, to be a low-cost option and accepts it. Therefore, with as much attention to expertise as possible and continued active diplomacy, as well as media engagement and public opinion management, efforts should be made in this country to turn the tanker issue, instead of a case to increase Britain's distance and proximity to the United States, into a case whose final result will be the continuation of Britain's independent and to some extent European approach to confronting Iran. Of course, this will be possible by showing constant goodwill and showing off an independent and just position; so that the sweetness of such decisive and diplomatic victories will be extended with complementary steps and America's naked bullying may not become a prelude to bitterness in the future.
Shargh Daily link
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