Interviews

Book Review: US-Iran Misperceptions: A Dialogue

Written by several policy experts from the US and Iran, this book is a must read by anyone seeking to grasp the inventory of the past and present issues between the two countries and the possibilities that exist to move beyond the long-standing stalemate toward a new chapter in relations between Tehran and Washington.  The authors do not necessarily agree with each other in their assessments of the sources of enduring hostility between US and Iran and or their extent of optimism regarding any breakthrough in the stalemated relations, yet their narratives commonly hammer the need to move these relations forward by, first and foremost, learning from the past history and avoiding the “highly counterproductive” misperceptions, such as those that reinforce Manichean enemy images of the other side.

With respect to the Iranian leader’s perception of US, the contribution by Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian diplomat sheds light on Ayatollah Khamenei’s nuanced political ideology that evinces rational thinking and valid suspicions of American intentions toward Iran, intermixed with his willingness to pursue the diplomatic track with Washington within the framework of Iran’s national interests.  It is important to add to Mousavian’s insight, however, the importance of “value-rationality” that needs to be distinguished from “practical rationality,” following a well-known Weberian and Habermasian tradition, so that the kernel of Iran’s antipathy to nuclear weapons on both practical and moral and ethical grounds can be better understood.

Editors: Abbas Maleki & John Tirman
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic (February 13, 2014)
ISBN-10: 1623569362
ISBN-13: 978-1623569365
“Book Review: US-Iran Misperceptions: A Dialogue,” Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, American Iranian Council, May 27, 2014.
Articles, Publications

US, Iran cannot afford another missed opportunity

The talks between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and Iran are moving “very slowly and with difficulty,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said May 16 after the conclusion of the latest round of negotiations in Vienna. The next day, lead Iranian negotiator and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted, “Back from Vienna after tough discussions. Agreement is possible. But illusions need to go. Opportunity shouldn’t be missed again like in 2005.”

A comprehensive nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, ending three decades of estrangement, hostility and sanctions, has never been closer, but it would be a tragedy if the current round of talks ended up on the list of missed opportunities between the United States and Iran, as I recount in my new book co-authored with Shahir Shahidsaless, “Iran and the United States: An Insider’s View on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace.”

The current precarious state of affairs cannot be sustained. If no common ground is created between Iran and the United States and the other world powers on the nuclear issue, one of two scenarios with similar outcomes, is likely to occur. As pressures build over time, patience for long diplomatic processes will wane and military confrontation could take the place of diplomacy. Or, as the United States tightens sanctions even further, Iran’s retaliatory actions may lead to an inadvertent or deliberate confrontation. The already crisis-stricken Middle East and the potential for a wider military confrontation should give greater urgency for the opportunity not to be missed this time.

Read More

“US, Iran cannot afford another missed opportunity,” Hossein Mousavian, Al Monitor, May 26, 2014.

انتشارات, مقاله ها

نقش رهبر انقلاب در جلوگیری از وقوع یک جنگ

به گزارش گروه سیاست خارجی خبرگزاری تسنیم؛‌ اخیرا  سیدحسین موسویان، عضو پیشین تیم مذاکره‌کننده هسته‌ای ایران کتابی با عنوان «ایران و آمریکا، گذشته شکست‌خورده و مسیر صلح» را در آمریکا  منتشر کرده است؛ دیپلمات سابق کشورمان در این اثر  به بررسی تاریخ روابط میان دو کشور، ریشه‌ها و عوامل بی‌اعتمادی و خصومت دو کشور در دوران بعد از انقلاب و ارایه “نقشه راه” جامع برای رفع خصومت‌ها و بهبود روابط واشنگتن و تهران پرداخته است.

ترجمه بخشی از کتاب جدید موسویان که نویسنده در اختیار تسنیم قرار داده است در ادامه ارائه می شود:

ادامه مطلب

نقش رهبر انقلاب در جلوگیری از وقوع یک جنگ – حسین موسویان – تسنیم – دوشنبه ۵ خرداد ۱۳۹۳

انتشارات, مقاله ها

هزینه فرصت های از دست رفتۀ بین ایران و آمریکا

سید حسین موسویان در کتاب تازه منتشر شده خود جزئیات جدیدی از شکست تعامل میان ایران و آمریکا و هزینۀ فرصت های از دست رفته، پس از وقایع ١١ سپتامبر، و نیز در جریان مذاکرات هسته ای بین سال های ٢٠٠٣ تا ٢٠٠۵، را بازگو می کند.

مذاکرات ایران و گروه ١+۵ بنا به گفته عباس عراقچی معاون وزارت امور خارجه ایران “بسیار آهسته و به سختی” پیش می رود. این سخنان را عراقچی روز ١۶ ماه مه، پس از خاتمه دور اخیر مذاکرات در وین بر زبان راند. روز بعد، جواد ظریف، وزیر امور خارجه و مذاکره کننده ارشد ایران در صفحه توئیتر خود نوشت: “رسیدن به توافق ممکن است اما توهمات را باید کنار گذاشت و فرصت ها را نباید از دست داد، همانگونه که سال ٢٠٠۵ افتاد”.

ادامه مطلب

هزینه فرصت های از دست رفتۀ بین ایران و آمریکا   – حسین موسویان – المانیتور – دوشنبه ۵ خرداد ۱۳۹۳