Blair refuse la participation UK à une attaque contre l’Iran

Tony Blair refuse la participation britannique à une éventuelle attaque US contre l’Iran, selon le site news.scotsman.com du quotidien The Scotsman. Plus encore, les Britanniques disent qu'ils sont hostiles à l’option de la force et qu'ils croient à la possibilité d’une solution diplomatique.

« Tony Blair has told George Bush that Britain cannot offer military support to any strike on Iran, regardless of whether the move wins the backing of the international community, government sources claimed yesterday. [...] ...in the midst of international opposition to a pre-emptive strike on Tehran, and Britain's military commitments around the world, the government maintains it cannot contribute to a military assault. “We will support the diplomatic moves, at best,” a Foreign Office source told Scotland on Sunday. “But we cannot commit our own resources to a military strike.”

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» The Foreign Policy Centre (FPC), often referred to as Blair's “favourite think-tank”, will appeal for a greater effort to find a diplomatic solution in a report to be published later this week. FPC director Stephen Twigg, formerly a Labour minister, explained: “It is essential UK policy on Iran is well informed... We want to engage with the various reformist elements in Iran, both inside and outside the structures of power. There is potential for political dialogue, economic ties and cultural contacts to act as catalysts for the strengthening of civil society in Iran.”

» While the sense of crisis over Iran has been escalated by the fiery rhetoric between Tehran and the West — particularly Washington — many within the British government are now convinced that the impasse can be resolved by repeating the same sort of painstaking diplomatic activity that returned Libya to the international fold. The approach contrasts sharply with the strategy employed during the run-up to the war in Iraq, when ministers repeatedly issued grim warnings to Saddam Hussein over the consequences of not falling in line with their demands. “The only long-term solution to Iran's problems is democracy,” said Alex Bigham, co-author of the FPC report. “But it cannot be dictated, Iraq-style, or it will backfire. Iran may seem superficially like Iraq but we need to treat Iran more like Libya. Diplomatic engagement must be allowed to run its course. There need to be bigger carrots as well as bigger sticks.” »

Mis en ligne le 16 avril 2006 à 10H53