Spanish ambassador to Iran: Rouhani has put all his efforts into resolving Iran’s nuclear case

Pedro Vienna was born in Valencia. He decided to become a diplomat as a young man so that he could see the world in person. After years of serving as a Spanish diplomat in North Africa, he came to Iran as the new Spanish ambassador to Iran in 2011.

The Spanish Ambassador, a courteous, well-mannered, and intelligent diplomat, emphasizes his efforts to establish closer ties between Iran and Spain. He also assumes his serious responsibility as to display an accurate and true image of Iran’s developments, regardless of anti-Iran propaganda spreading from the West.

In a hot summer day we went to the ambassador’s office, a friendly place noticeably decorated with several maps of Iran, hanging from the walls.

What follows is Avadiplomatic’s exclusive interview with Pedro Vienna.

Interview by Mohammadreza Nazari 

 What are the most important political and cultural capacities in the relations between the two countries?

The most important capacity is the cultural closeness of the two countries. Most of the Iranians who travel to Spain, feel at home there. That’s why for an Iranian, travelling to Spain is far different from traveling to Germany and Sweden.

I believe that the greatest cultural capacity is that the two countries are much alike and they can communicate very easily with one another. Iran-Spain bilateral relations date back to five hundred years ago.

 During Mohammad Khatami’s presidency, an Iranian President visited Spain for the first time. This approach from the reform administration led to a significant expansion in Iran-Spain bilateral relations. To what extent do you hope that during Hassan Rouhani’s presidency, bilateral relations go back to its former trend?

Well, Spain is very hopeful to have those days back again. It is certainly up to Mr. Rouhani and his administration and I hope that the level of Iran-Spain bilateral relations under this administration, at least, elevates to that of Mr Khatami’s era. We should hope for it and no doubt the expansion of the relations between Iran and Spain will benefit both nations.

 Don’t you think that mere hope won’t lead to an expansion of the relations between the two countries and to achieve this goal both sides should think of an operational plan?

I agree. Hope is good but not enough. After Mr. Rouhani’s oath-taking, it has become possible for both countries to expand their relations with one another and if we attain this important goal, this attitude won’t be based on mere hope anymore. We should bear in mind that with Mr Rouhani in office, we will witness a much better start than before.

It should be noted of course that on the one hand the status quo of the region is far more complicated than before and on the other, a new president and a new foreign minister have come to power in Iran. The new attitude can pave the way for Iran to establish closer relations with the rest of the world. It can be claimed indeed that it’s not the mere hope that matters. The new Iranian administration exerts its will based on this new attitude in order to improve its relations with other countries.

You mentioned coming to power of a new administration and a new foreign minister in Iran. Mr. Kissinger called Mr. Zarif a “respectable enemy”. Do you consider this as a positive signal from the United States to the new administration in Iran?

Well, Kissinger paid Zarif a compliment by this phrase, especially considering his use of “respectable” in referring to Zarif.

As the Spanish ambassador to Iran and regarding recent changes brought about in Iran, do you try, more than before, to expand the bilateral relations?

Yes, but the point is that there is not sufficient space for us to expand bilateral relations more than before. So long as there is no change in EU policies towards Iran, there won’t be an expansion in bilateral relations. In Iran, we are recognized as the EU representative and in Europe, EU members recognize us as Europe rather than as a single country.

Don’t you think that in this situation, EU policies towards Iran makes Spain adopt more limited relations with Iran?

EU foreign policy is determined by all the members. It means that sometimes more or less concern is aroused over an issue, and all EU policies adopted about Iran are endorsed by Spain. But the point is that we suffer more than other countries because of some decisions with which Spanish government agreed.

For instance in 2011, Spain imported 13 to 14 per cent of the crude oil it needed from Iran, but on January 23^rd 2012, when EU imposed an oil embargo against Iran, we could not purchase Iran’s oil any longer and ultimately from July 2012 Spanish government stopped importing of crude from Iran completely. Well, we had a hard time not being able to import crude from Iran and we had to find an alternative. Anyhow, we must accept the consequences of a decision we ourselves made in EU, though it didn’t benefit our bilateral relations.

Imposed sanctions against Tehran won’t benefit Iran-Spain bilateral relations. We expect Spain to play a more active role in negotiations with P5+1 group. Why Spain, unlike Turkey, didn’t play a role in Iran’s nuclear case?

The answer is clear. Spain is not among P5+1 group’s negotiators.

 You are saying that no other country, except for P5+1 representatives can play an active role in resolving Iran’s nuclear case. Is that so?

I cannot air my views about other countries; I can only express mine about Spain. Indeed, under current circumstances, Spain cannot play a more active role in Iran’s nuclear case. However, in the nuclear negotiations, Mrs. Ashton is also representing Spain.

The crisis in Syria made Iran-US relation more strained. Can this affect Iran’s nuclear case?

The current situation in Syria is no good news for both sides in this country. I wish there was a solution to it or I could come up with one.

Former Italian Ambassador to Iran Toscano and other former ambassadors to Iran expressed different views about Iran’s foreign policies. Now that you are in Iran on a diplomatic mission, can you make us more in-depth analyses regarding possible horizons in Iran’s international diplomacy?

The interesting point is that all of them are former ambassadors. You should go to them and examine why their views are different than those of the incumbent ones. Of course I’m not Kissinger or Ban Ki-moon. I’m a humble Spanish ambassador to Iran.

 Are all Spanish diplomats conservative like you?  

You should note that I’m not allowed to air my views about the crisis in Syria. If I were Lakhdar Brahimi, it was my duty to express my personal opinion regarding Syria. Even if I were Toscano, the former Italian ambassador to Iran who is also a journalist, I could air my views about Egypt as well. But here I am, only Spain’s representative and nobody must care about my views.

As a matter of fact, you are Iranian and you live in here and you are aware of all the developments that occurred in Syria during the last three years. I’m not an extraordinary being who can talk about Palestine as well- an issue which has been tackled for sixty years. I am only the Spanish ambassador to Iran and only within this scope I can answer your questions.

In your opinion, what are Rouhani’s most urgent priorities of in expanding Iran’s relations with the world in general and with Spain in particular?

President Rouhani himself is well aware of what he should do first. He transmitted his message well to the world when he said repeatedly that he intended to have constructive relations with the world. I think that this is the right attitude and I believe that Rouhani will do his best to resolve Iran’s nuclear case. Also, he wants to improve Iran’s economy. I think President Rouhani learned the necessary lessons from the past and is now doing what he has learned. In fact, Rouhani displays an image of moderation and prudence. I haven’t had the honor of knowing him in person but I am convinced that he is an intelligent person.

What exactly convinced you that Rouhani is an intelligent person?

Rouhani became Iran’s president at a critical moment and he is doing what Iran needs for promotion of its people’s welfare. More precisely, Rouhani is an intelligent person because he has chosen the right tools for implementing his plans and meeting his objectives. I’m a diplomat of course and I cannot tackle some issues but I don’t utter what I don’t believe. In other words, I don’t say that the Iranian President is an intelligent person because I have to say that. I believe that he is a powerful politician.

Let’s go to Iran and its domestic issues. During the past few weeks you paid a visit to Kermanshah Province and you said in an interview that you enjoyed the tour and you were impressed. The question is how we can display this very image of Iran in the international scene?

A very good question. Iran has this problem of reflecting itself in the international media. And this problem has a historical background and didn’t just appear today. As the Spanish ambassador in Iran, I tried to explain elements of modern Iran to my governmentthe elements that comprise modern Iran. But you should note that I’m not a media person or a journalist, however, I try to convince the Spanish government that what is displayed in international media about your country does not reflect the realities of modern Iran, and these two images are far apart. In other words, both Iran and the other side can contribute to portray the real Iran.

I can say – to my country – what the realities of Iran are and tell them that what they are showing or is being shown is not the true image of Iran. This problem has to be resolved outside media. European citizens don’t have much information about Iran at present and they are provided only with a very general image of Iran which causes the problem. My duty of course is to deliver an honest and fair image of Iran to my country.

People who have not been to Iran yet will read your comments and remarks. What pictures of Iran- in order to reflect a realistic portray- have you found more colorful and more impressive?

They should come to Iran and see this country with their own eyes. In fact, if it is possible for those who haven’t come to Iran yet, to come and see, a large number of problems would be cleared up. They should experience being here and communicating with Iranian people indeed.

When I’m on a trip in Iran I don’t speak Persian and this is difficult for me sometimes. However, I have some experiences in which I couldn’t communicate with people in Persian but the people themselves came to me to help. On a trip I wanted to visit a religious building but the street signs weren’t helpful and the passersby couldn’t speak English. I tried for a couple of times but I finally gave up. I couldn’t find the building after all. In the mean time, I saw three youngsters and told myself let’s try for the last time. One of them was an English instructor, we talked, and they gave me a local map and marked the places I wanted on it for me. I found the building and I visited it. In fact, if you know nothing of Persian or anything about how to get to your destination, there will always be an Iranian out there to help you.

Do you travel alone?

Yes, without my driver but my wife and I haven’t faced a problem yet.

You are in friendly terms with other Spanish-speaking diplomats in Tehran. And we know that during the past four hundred years, there were several problems in your relations with Latin American countries. How did these relations revive?

Well, you must consider the experience of living abroad. We are colleagues with a common language who live in Iran. These countries include: Uruguay, Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba, and Argentina. Memories of distant past don’t exist in my mind but some people who live in Spanish-speaking countries still suffer from the percussions of those days. Well, this is a personal matter.

Iran is trying to get involved with Spanish-speaking countries and that’s why it launched a Spanish TV channel. How do you perceive Iran’s role in Spanish-speaking countries?

Although the launched TV channel broadcasts its programs in Spanish, its focus is on Latin American countries and as far as political relations are concerned, Iran’s relations with Latin American countries are wider in scope. That’s why they receive a real image of Iran. But I should note that- from a historical point of view- Iranians are entitled all kinds of compliments and praise, but instead of recalling the past, we should come to the present time with a historical leap.

How is possible to make this historical leap? What features does this historical leap include?

The answer is not easy and straightforward. Every nation has its own problems with history. In other words, history has its own lights and shades. I cannot say what you should do. But your judgments of others and others’ judgments of you must be based on present circumstances not on illusions and historical past. If this happens, we will see more realistic situations.