Tag: Negotiations

Interviews

BRIDGE BUILDING FOR GLOBAL PEACE AND SECURITY

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For the last 35 years, I have devoted my professional and personal life to advance peace and security in one of the world’s most turbulent regions—the Middle East, in addition to addressing key issues facing the international community from nuclear proliferation risks to countering terrorism and bringing about regional security. From 1997 to 2005, I served as the Head of Foreign Relations Committee of Iran’s National Security Council and once the Iranian nuclear file came under international scrutiny, I joined the Iranian nuclear negotiations team as the spokesperson from 2003 to 2005.

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“BRIDGE BUILDING FOR GLOBAL PEACE AND SECURITY,” Global Risk and Opportunity Report, Q3 2015.

Interviews

“Irán reforzó su programa nuclear para presionar a Estados Unidos” (Spanish)

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“Irán reforzó su programa nuclear para presionar a Estados Unidos” (Spanish)

Seyed Hossein Mousavian está convencido de que las sanciones impuestas por Occidente a Irán fueron “contraproducentes”. Este diplomático y politólogo iraní explicó este viernes en Madrid que Teherán decidió reforzar su programa nuclear en respuesta a las mismas. “Para presionar a Washington”, añadió.

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“Irán reforzó su programa nuclear para presionar a Estados Unidos,” Interview with El Pais, September 25, 2015.

Articles, Publications

Why Iran Doesn’t Trust America — And What Can Be Done to Change That

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During his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Barack Obama accused Iran of using “violent proxies to advance its interests,” which he claimed served to “fuel sectarian conflict” in the region. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shot back during his speech, decrying what he said were “baseless accusations” against Iran and calling for the United States to halt its “dangerous policies in defense of its regional allies who only cultivate the seeds of division and extremism.”

Obama and Rouhani’s comments highlight a broader issue underlying the troubled U.S.-Iran relationship. In the West, many commentators often portray Iran’s leaders as being unreasonably suspicious about the intentions of outside powers, particularly the United States. Often dovetailing with this mentality is that Iran is irrationally and innately aggressive. While President Obama’s remarks at the UNGA reflect this black-and-white thinking about Iran to a degree, other high-level U.S. officials have been far more brazen in their dishonest condemnations of Iran. For instance, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, remarkably proclaimed in a March 2015 interview that “Iran and radical Islamist extremists” have opposed the United States simply because they “do not like our way of life.”

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“Why Iran Doesn’t Trust America — And What Can Be Done to Change That,” Hossein Mousavian, The Huffington Post, October 5, 2015.

Articles, Publications

Should Congress Approve the Iran Deal?

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The Iran nuclear deal represents the most comprehensive international agreement ever reached in the area of nuclear nonproliferation. The confidence-building measures it elicits from Iran in order to ensure that its nuclear program will remain peaceful—ranging from intrusive inspections to novel verification mechanisms—are the most powerful of their kind that a Nuclear Nonproliferation member-state has agreed to. If the objective was to certify Iran’s compliance with NPT and block all possible paths toward a bomb, then this agreement represents the maximum that could have been achieved.

 

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“Should Congress Approve the Iran Deal?” Hossein Mousavian, Foreign affairs, September 7, 2015.

Articles, Publications

Together, Iran and the United States can shape the Middle East’s future

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The historic deal negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 world powers will have far-reaching implications. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Middle East and indeed the world will never be the same. The peaceful resolution of what had become one of the most pressing crises of our time is a victory for the cause of stability and order in the Middle East.

As many observers have pointed out, this deal will be a major part of President Obama’s legacy. However, the reason behind its significance is not simply that it has resolved the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program, a huge achievement in its own right, but that it has opened the door for a new US approach towards the Middle East.

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“Together, Iran and the United States can shape the Middle East’s future,” Hossein Mousavian, Telegraph, July 14, 2015.

Articles, Publications

The experts assess the Iran agreement of 2015

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This roughly 100-page agreement, meticulously crafted by the tireless and sagacious diplomats of Iran and the P5+1, represents a milestone achievement in the cause of non-proliferation. This deal ensures a fully transparent Iranian nuclear program in a verifiable way, adopts new sets of measures guaranteeing there can be no diversion towards weaponization in Iran, acknowledges Iran’s right to enrich uranium on its soil for peaceful purposes, and secures the removal of the draconian sanctions regime imposed on Iran.

Furthermore, this deal serves as a model for how to address future proliferation challenges throughout the world. A template has been created for how countries can develop nuclear energy programs without eliciting concern that they may develop nuclear weapons. Several principles can be enshrined into international non-proliferation law based on this agreement, including ceasing the production of plutonium and the separation of plutonium, halting the production of highly enriched uranium, and prohibiting the stockpiling beyond peaceful domestic needs of nuclear fuel.

Broader steps that can also be taken after the implementation of this agreement include establishing a nuclear-weapons-free zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East, a longtime goal of Iran. The Middle East is already in an incredibly volatile state, and the possession of nuclear weapons by any power only serves to exacerbate instability and tension throughout the region. There is a clearly an urgent need for the establishment of a NWFZ in the Middle East, and this nuclear agreement sets a positive precedent in this regard.

This diplomatic agreement also marks a major step towards decreasing tensions and hostility between Iran and the United States. It can be used as a starting point to address other areas of conflict between the two nations, specifically on issues related to regional rivalries and security-related issues such as terrorism. Iran and the United States both stand to benefit immensely from increased cooperation with one another. By compromising on the nuclear issue, the door is opened.

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“The experts assess the Iran agreement of 2015,” Hossein Mousavian, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July 14, 2015.