“Nuclear talks with Iran: Two principles for both sides,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Hermann Von Rainer, Frankfurter Algemeine, October 10, 2013. (German)
Tag: Nuclear
Iran Won’t Give Up Nuclear Program, Ex-Rouhani Associate Says
“Iran Won’t Give Up Nuclear Program, Ex-Rouhani Associate Says,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Patrick Donahue, Bloomberg, October 10, 2013.
Rouhani’s Nuclear Options
[Author’s note: The views in this paper were presented prior to the Iranian presidential election at the NPT Prepcom on April 25 and publicly at Global Zero event at University of California-Irvine on May 23, 2013 respectively. This paper does not reflect in anyway the official position of the Iranian government.]
The Iranian nuclear dilemma is centered on the legitimate rights of Iran to enrichment under the NPT, and is not about building a nuclear bomb. Iran has signed onto every Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) convention, such as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997, the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1996, and the NPT in 1970. Such conventions entail rights and obligations for all signatories. The West, however, has chosen, in contravention of international law, to carry out a coercive policy whereby Iran is pressed on obligations while its rights are denied.
“Rouhani’s Nuclear Options,” Hossein Mousavian, Asharq Al-Awsat, July 10, 2013.
Five Options for Iran’s New President
[Author’s note: The views in this paper were presented prior to the Iranian presidential election at the NPT Prepcom on April 25 and publicly at Global Zero event at University of California-Irvine on May 23, 2013 respectively. This paper does not reflect in anyway the official position of the Iranian government.]
Nuclear negotiations lasting more than a decade between Iran and world powers have failed. The talks have been unable to reconcile the concerns voiced by the United States and other parties that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon with Iran’s insistence that its program is strictly peaceful and only intended for civilian energy production.
Publicly, the U.S. and other Western officials blame the failure of nuclear talks on Iran. The key question, however, is whether talks have failed because of the perceived Iranian intention to build a nuclear bomb, or due to the West’s unwillingness to recognize Iran’s right to enrich uranium under international safeguards. Former U.S. officials Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett, authors of Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran, recently addressed this issue, which rarely is part of Iran policy debates in the United States: “Washington’s unwillingness [to recognize the rights of Iran for enrichment] is grounded in unattractive, but fundamental, aspects of American strategic culture: difficulty coming to terms with independent power centers (whether globally or in vital regions like the Middle East); hostility to non-liberal states, unless they subordinate their foreign policies to U.S. preferences (as Egypt did under Sadat and Mubarak); and an unreflective but deeply rooted sense that U.S.-backed norms, rules, and transnational decision-making processes are meant to constrain others, not America itself.”
Iran, as a sovereign state and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is entitled to uranium enrichment. I believe that if Washington recognized Iran’s right to enrich, a nuclear deal could be reached immediately. Without this recognition, no substantial agreement will be possible.
“Five Options for Iran’s New President,” Hossein Mousavian, Cairo Review, pgs. 68-79. Published by the Cairo Review of Global Affairs, July 2013.
Confidante of the new Iranian president (Japanese)
“Confidante of the new Iranian president,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Fumi Yoshida, Asahi Shimbun, June 28, 2013. (Japanese)
Iran’s Next President and The Third Nuclear Strategy
The Iranian presidential election is set for June 14, and the candidate selected will take office in August. The world is eager to know the new president’s nuclear policy.
The ongoing Iranian nuclear issue dates back to early 2003, when Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), visited the nuclear facilities at Natanz and officially announced that Iran was among 10 nations that had attained enrichment technology and capability. After that, during the tenures of Presidents Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran and the world embarked on two approaches to nuclear diplomacy with varying costs and benefits.
“Iran’s Next President and The Third Nuclear Strategy,” Hossein Mousavian, Al-Monitor, June 10, 2013.
Embrace the Fatwa
As the Western media reported it, the future of U.S.-Iranian nuclear negotiations suffered a major setback on Feb. 7 when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seemed to reject Vice President Joseph Biden’s offer of direct talks. “Some naive people like the idea of negotiating with America, however, negotiations will not solve the problem,” the supreme leader said in a statement posted on his website. “You are pointing a gun at Iran saying you want to talk. The Iranian nation will not be frightened by the threats.”
“Embrace the Fatwa”, Hossein Mousavian, Foreign Policy, February 7, 2013.
Iran wants a nuclear deal, not war
To stop Iran achieving “critical capability” to produce nuclear weapons in the coming months, President Obama must impose “maximal” sanctions – that is the message of a new report issued in Washington by five senior non-proliferation specialists. They call on Obama to implement a de facto international embargo on all investments in, and trade with, Iran, declaring: “A successful outcome in any negotiations with Iran depends on the immediate implementation of these sanctions, along with simultaneously reinforcing the credibility of President Obama’s threat to use military force, if necessary, to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”
“Iran wants a nuclear deal, not war”, Hossein Mousavian, the Guardian, January 21, 2013.
Respect is Crucial in Nuclear Talks with Iran
After a decade, we are nearing an endgame on Iran’s nuclear file. The initial positive atmosphere during Tehran’s talks with the P5+1 (the five members of the UN security council plus Germany) in Istanbul in April had been lost by the next round of talks in Baghdad, in May.
“Respect is Crucial in Nuclear Talks with Iran,” co-written with Mohammad Ali Shabani, Guardian, June 15, 2012.
Real Solutions to Nuclear Deadlock with Iran
Going in, the P5+1 members need to know that war or coercion are not
the only two options. A third, offered by President Obama, seeks to
engage Tehran regarding its nuclear program. This could work – since
2003, Iran has been looking for a viable and durable solution to the
diplomatic standoff.
“Real Solutions to Nuclear Deadlock with Iran,” Boston Globe, March 31, 2012.
