The diplomatic chess game around Iran's nuclear program includes an
unlikely bishop. According to several well-placed Rome sources,
Iranian officials are quietly laying the groundwork necessary to turn
to Pope Benedict XVI and top Vatican diplomats for mediation if the
showdown with the United States should escalate toward a military
intervention. The 80-year-old Pope has thus far steered clear of any
strong public comments about either Iran's failure to fully comply
with U.N. nuclear weapons inspectors or the drumbeat of war coming
from some corners in Washington. But Iran, which has had diplomatic
relations with the Holy See for 53 years, may be trying to line up
Benedict as an ace in the hole for staving off a potential attack in
the coming months. "The Vatican seems to be part of their strategy," a
senior Western diplomat in Rome said of the Iranian leadership.
"They'll have an idea of when the 11th hour is coming. And they know
an intervention of the Vatican is the most open and amenable route to
Western public opinion. It could buy them time."
If the situation heats up in the coming months, the question of
exactly what role the Vatican would play could become pivotal. Says
one high-ranking Vatican official: "The Iranians look to the Holy See
with particular attention. It is born from our common religious
matrix. This could be utilized to offer ourselves as an intermediary
if the crisis worsens." Among the potential moves: a forceful series
of public appeals by the Pope, a Vatican emissary sent to Washington
and Tehran, or a visit to the Vatican by Iranian President President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Located in a leafy Rome neighborhood, the Iranian embassy to the Holy
See features an entryway lined with a large photograph of Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini, and framed, centuries-old correspondence between
popes and Persian monarchs, including a Nov. 16, 1561, letter in Latin
from Pope Pius V to Shah Tahmasp I. The current No. 2 official at the
embassy, Vice-Ambassador Ahmad Fahima, said that despite some concern
last year about the Pope's provocative speech about Islam in
Regensburg, Germany, "relations between Iran and the Holy See are very
good." Last April's release of 15 British sailors held by Iran -- a
decision that Ahmadinejad called "an Easter gift" -- came just a day
after the Pope had sent a private letter asking for their liberation.
"There was respect for the request of the Pope," said Fahima, who also
cited a Rome meeting in May between Benedict and former Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami as a sign of the mutual good will. "The
policy of the Holy See is important throughout the whole world," the
diplomat said.
Asked about the standoff with the West over his country's nuclear
program, Fahima repeated Iran's insistence that it is seeking atomic
power only for civilian purposes. Moreover, he said he doubts that the
United States can resolve key regional issues in the Middle East,
including Iraq and Lebanon, without the help of Iran. "We don't expect
the superpower will attack," Fahima concluded. "But if they do, I am
sure the Holy See would not be favorable to such a choice."
Iran has a surprisingly large diplomatic corps at the Vatican (only
the Dominican Republic has more diplomats accredited to the Holy See)
who have a monthly meeting with papal advisers. But other unofficial
discussions, in trattorias and cafes and a variety of Church
institutions, are a constant part of the diplomatic workings in Rome.
And over recent months, the conversations have centered on the looming
showdown over Iran's nuclear program. Says one key Catholic Church
player involved in these discussions: "The Pope will speak explicitly
only when the conditions call for it. One difference this time
[compared with Iraq] is that we're hoping the American bishops could
speak out [against any attack plans]. That would be of great help."
For now, Benedict is maintaining a low profile. During his September
trip to Austria, the Pope chose not to address the Iranian nuclear
question in a key speech to world diplomats in Vienna, which is the
headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Though Vatican
officials say they are concerned about Iran's development of nuclear
arms, the pontiff is both doctrinally bound and personally inclined to
pursue a negotiated settlement at almost any cost. In 2003, then
serving as a senior Vatican Cardinal, the current Pope was firmly
behind John Paul II's opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Indeed, many in Rome cite parallels between the current push from
American hardliners to confront Iran and the walkup to the war in
Iraq. "The Holy See hasn't forgotten what happened in Iraq," says one
Vatican insider. "Seeing how that situation has developed, there is
great, great prudence on the part of the Holy See. The judgment shown
on Iraq weighs on the Iran situation."
As elsewhere, U.S. and Iranian officials in Rome do not have any
direct contact. With American officials, Vatican diplomats sometimes
raise the subject of Iran in the context of ongoing efforts to
stabilize Lebanon, where the Catholic Church is actively involved in
negotiations because of that country's large Christian population.
Indeed, while home to a relatively small Christian minority, Iran is
seen at the Vatican as a key player in the broader context of inter-
faith relations. Religious experts say that Catholicism and Shi'a
Islam have a surprisingly similar structure and approach to their
different faiths. "What you have in Iran is a strong academic
tradition, with both philosophical and mystical aspects -- in many ways
like Catholicism," says Father Daniel Madigan, a Jesuit scholar of
islam, and a member of the Vatican's commission for religious
relations with Islam who helped arrange for Khatami's visit. There is
also a clerical hierarchy in Shi'ism that is absent in other forms of
Islam. Madigan notes that Iranians have long studied other cultures
and religions. "They know their Western stuff," he said. "Right now,
they're isolated because of sanctions, but they really do want to
interact with the world." And Rome is one place the interaction has
already begun.
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