By Jaime León
Tehran (EFE).- Iran is opting for what it calls “strategic patience” in its standoff with the West following the reimposition of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program.
Tehran had warned for weeks of “serious consequences” if sanctions were restored, but since their reinstatement on Sep. 28, it has taken no direct action beyond ruling out new talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, known as the E3, or with the United States, which it accuses of driving the move.
“Tehran currently sees the solution in adopting strategic patience until the West changes course or shifts the political landscape,” the state-run IRNA news agency said in a recent analysis.
Strategic patience, defined in Iran as a doctrine emphasizing restraint and the avoidance of immediate retaliation, has guided Iran’s foreign and defense policy for decades. That approach was shattered in 2024 with the first direct attacks between Tehran and Tel Aviv and the so-called 12-Day War in June.
Analyst Ali Alfoneh of the US-based Arab Gulf States Institute wrote that two of Iran’s deterrence pillars, its missile program and regional allies Hamas and Hezbollah, have proven insufficient against Israel and the United States. Its third pillar, the nuclear program, remains both its last bargaining chip and most dangerous asset.
Although not officially declared, strategic patience appears to define Iran’s current stance amid fears of further escalation.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said over the weekend that the agreement reached in August with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “is no longer effective,” though he stopped short of terminating it.
“Now, the Cairo Agreement can no longer serve as the basis for our cooperation with the Agency (and) is no longer effective under current circumstances,” Araghchi told foreign ambassadors in Tehran.
Araghchi added that Iran’s future cooperation with the IAEA would be announced “at a later date.” Threats to withdraw from the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty have also subsided.
The deal had restored cooperation with the UN nuclear body but failed to sway the E3 against reinstating sanctions.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei said Monday that Tehran has “no plans for negotiations at the moment,” while assessing the implications of the six UN resolutions reimposed on Iran. EFE
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