Fischer Visits Iran as Calls for a Diplomatic Role Gather Pace

"I am not coming back," Joschka Fischer said at the end of June, brushing aside suggestions he could return to fight another day for Germany's Green party. "The door is closed; the key has been turned and thrown away."

The new professor of international economic policy at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs may have meant every word he said when stepping down from government to concentrate on his new teaching position in the United States. But in the space of almost a month, the former German foreign minister's expertise in the Middle East has become a more valuable commodity; one which some wish to use again.

The war in Lebanon and the rapidly disintegrating relationship between the West and Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions have turned up the heat in the pressure cooker region, with diplomats from all nations struggling to find viable solutions to the problems in the Middle East.

A respected Middle East expert

Some believe Fischer, as an expert on the Middle East who won the confidence of both Jews and Palestinians during his seven years as foreign minister, could prove to be an important player again in any negotiations -- be it in an official or unofficial capacity.

And while no official offer has been made for him to join Germany's efforts in ending the Israel-Hezbollah conflict or the nuclear stand-off with Iran, Fischer has been touted as a possible mediator in both crises, either as a German or European Union representative.

"As a proven international politician, respected both in Israel and Palestine, Joschka Fischer would be ideally placed to play a mediating role, as an EU envoy, aimed at negotiating a ceasefire (in Lebanon)," leading Green MEPs Daniel Cohn-Bendit from Germany and Italian Monica Frassoni said in a statement. The German government and Fischer himself have not responded to calls for such involvement in either the Lebanon or Iran crises.

However, Fischer started a four-day visit to Iran on Monday where he will take part in a round table debate organized by Tehran's Center for Strategic Studies after being invited by Hassan Rohani, Iran's former chief negotiator on its nuclear program.

Invitation shows Fischer's standing

Although the private visit had been organized for some time, his inclusion in the debate shows that his regular visits to Iran and the Middle East during his tenure as Germany's top diplomat built many important working relationships and earned him respect in the region.

And as the United Nations Security Council prepares to set Tehran a deadline for the suspension of its uranium enrichment program with sanctions seemingly unavoidable given Iran's belligerent stance, a man such as Fischer who the Iranians can trust could pave the way for talks to reopen. He himself believes that negotiation with Iran is the only way to secure a peaceful resolution to this and the wider problems in the region.

"If an understanding can be found with Tehran about its nuclear program and uranium enrichment, the situation in the Middle East will change," he recently told Die Zeit newspaper. "If not, we are heading for an enormous crisis with unforeseeable consequences."

Taking a different line

As for Lebanon, Fischer has already voiced his opinions and they differ from the current line of thinking. While many diplomats believe a UN force in Lebanon is the way forward, Fischer has said it would make "little sense" to deploy a larger UN contingent to stabilize the country.

"Another blue-helmet mandate will make little sense," Fischer said. "Only a robust force with a robust mandate could perhaps achieve something positive. But the risks are enormous. I think it is far more important to put political pressure on the radicals and to commit ourselves to new peace negotiations."

Fischer said the violence had been "orchestrated by foreign leaders of Hamas as part of their struggle with the moderate elements in the movement." But Iran and Syria also had a hand in events, he added.

He also accused the West, Russia and the United Nations of neglecting the Middle East peace process.

"Never before has the West, the US, neglected this volatile conflict so dangerously, never before has the so-called Middle East Quartet, namely the US, the EU, the UN and Russia, shown so little commitment," he said. "This is a tragedy."

Fischer's supporters have urged the international community to "think outside the box" to solve the Middle East crisis. Dispatching a former left-wing radical, self-styled rock'n'roll politician and ex-German foreign minister to the region may be a viable alternative to the current efforts to secure peace.