By Pooya Stone
Following a series of struggles and setbacks, the United Kingdom has officially exited the European Union. It is recalled that the country had joined the European Union in 1973.
The decision was made following a referendum on 23 June 2016, with an estimated 51.9% of English voters, or 17.4 million, voting to leave the European Union. The decision is known as “British Exit” or “BREXIT”.
US welcomes BREXIT
As such, the European Union, which already had 28 members, loses an important and decisive member with the departure of the United Kingdom.
In the United Kingdom, to commemorate BREXIT, 3 million coins of 50 pence (half a pound) were minted and marketed, while written on one side of the coin the date of 31 January and on the other it read: “Peace, prosperity, and friendship with all nations”.
US President Donald Trump welcomed the news and wrote on his Twitter:
“Congratulations to Boris Johnson on his great WIN! Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new Trade Deal after BREXIT. This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the E.U. Celebrate Boris!”
The implications of BREXIT on Britain’s relationship with Iran’s government
Evidence suggests that Britain’s exit from the European Union could, on the one hand, reduce the Union’s gravity on world power equations, on the other hand, bring Britain’s diplomatic positions closer to the United States.
Britain’s departure from the European Union has not been and is not a welcome to Iran’s dictatorship.
Nusratullah Tajik, an international expert of the regime, had earlier warned of the escalating tensions between the British and Iranian government:
“Given the increasing tension between Iran and the United States, we must try to deepen our relationship with the Europeans and not allow the gaps that sometimes exist between the US and other countries, including China, Russia, and Europe will be closed, so that they go behind Trump on political and JCPOA issues.” (ISNA, 18 January)
This government expert expressed his concern about the arresting of the UK ambassador and summoning him to the foreign ministry office and said:
“Bitter relations between Iran and Britain in the current situation are of no use to foreign policy as well as to the resolution of domestic problems, including economic issues … Our situation is not in a way to create a new front in the international arena against ourselves.”
The reason the mullahs are afraid of BREXIT
Government media also reacted to the news of BREXIT. The Jahan Sanat daily wrote on 1 February:
“With regard to the future of Britain’s relationship with the world after the BREXIT, it can be said that Britain’s departure from the European Union has opened Britain’s hand in political, military, security and economic affairs and that the country will begin a close relationship with the United States of America. It will be to the detriment of Europe and some other countries, such as China, Russia, and even Iran, and it is not very pleasant for these countries to see Britain as an integral ally of the United States.
“Therefore, this increases the disparity between countries such as Russia or even Iran that have always had problems with Britain. Since the United Kingdom will in the future support the policies and strategies of the United States, it will affect the relations of countries whose policies are in conflict with the United States.”
This state media is trying to say that now that the UK has left the European Union, it will no longer have those previous bottlenecks that follow the same EU policy on issues such as political relations, especially the JCPOA with the mullahs’ dictatorship. What is seen in practice is the proximity of British policy to the United States, and this has its own implications on the JCPOA and the “Trigger mechanism”.
Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union would not be ineffective with regard to Iran and would have positive and negative points, for example, when Britain was a member of the European Union, it was obliged to act in line with the Union, but now it has the freedom to cooperate with harder policies with the United States on Iran.”
