“Empire – Iran and the US: Diplomatic Enrichment,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Marwan Bishara, Al-Jazeera English, January 1, 2014.
Tag: P5+1
The US and Iran: A Breakthrough Moment? (Video)
“The US and Iran: A Breakthrough Moment?” Presentation at the Asia Society, December 14, 2013. (Video)
The Long Way towards Middle East Peace
“The Long Way towards Middle East Peace,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Manuel Almeida, Asharq Al Awsat, December 14, 2013.
Solving the Nuclear Conflict with Iran
Key Points:
- The breakthrough in the negotiations with regard to the Iranian nuclear program was reached because the parameters of the negotiations have changed. This enabled rapprochement between Iran and the United States. The willingness of the P5+1 to accept limited enrichment and provide sanctions relief was key to securing Iranian consent.
- A sustainable solution to the nuclear conflict with Iran can be agreed upon only on the basis of the NPT and necessitates an end to the discrimination of Iran compared to other member states. Measures that go beyond the provisions of the NPT can be complied with for a specified period of time as a confidence building measure.
- A final deal can be reached if US-Iran relations are further improved to guarantee domestic US support for an agreement.
“Solving the Nuclear Conflict with Iran,” Hossein Mousavian, Korber Policy Brief, No.2. Published by Korber Foundation, December 2013.
Una nueva era nuclear en el golfo Pérsico (Spanish)
El enriquecimiento de uranio ha sido el foco de la disputa sobre el programa nuclear iraní entre este país y las potencias mundiales, especialmente Estados Unidos, desde el año 2003. Irán viene argumentando que el enriquecimiento es su “derecho inalienable” en virtud del Tratado de No Proliferación (TNP) y que detener ese proceso es una “línea roja” que no se puede cruzar. Estados Unidos se ha opuesto a la posición de Irán.
El 24 de noviembre, después de cuatro días de conversaciones maratonianas, Irán y el Grupo 5+1 (los cinco miembros permanentes del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU más Alemania), firmaron finalmente el acuerdo provisional de Ginebra; debe interpretarse como el preámbulo para una solución integral y a largo plazo. Poco después, el ministro de Relaciones Exteriores iraní, Mohamed Javad Zarif, aseguró en una conferencia de prensa, que hay en el acuerdo, en dos ocasiones, “una muy clara referencia sobre el hecho de que el programa de enriquecimiento iraní continuará y será parte de cualquier acuerdo, ahora y en el futuro”. Zarif estaba aludiendo a un texto en el Plan de Acción Conjunto que establece que el acuerdo final implicará “un programa de enriquecimiento definido de mutuo acuerdo, con límites prácticos y medidas de transparencia para garantizar el carácter pacífico del programa”.
“Una nueva era nuclear en el golfo Pérsico,” Hossein Mousavian, El Pais, December 11, 2013. (Spanish)
Iran and the nuclear agreement: Trust but verify
The Joint Plan of Action signed in Geneva represents a serious step toward defusing the longstanding dispute between Iran and the West over Iran’s nuclear program. Both sides negotiated seriously and in good faith, overcoming substantial problems while achieving an important agreement.
For the interim agreement to work, however, both sides need to commit unequivocally to fully meeting the obligations on time. There is no room for delays, obfuscation, excuses.
This is not simply a matter of building trust or goodwill. Yes, an interim agreement has been reached, but with 30-plus years of deep distrust and enmity between Iran and the West as the backdrop. There is no sugarcoating the distrust or sense of victimization that pervades this agreement, and the feeling on both sides that the other will not fulfill its obligations or, more bluntly, will cheat.
“Iran and the nuclear agreement: Trust but verify,” Daniel Kurtzer, Seyed Hossein Mousavian and Thomas Pickering, Al-Monitor, December 6, 2013.
Beyond Iran’s nuclear deal
In recent years, Western countries have made several foreign policy miscalculations arising from over reliance on simplistic information and rationales, leading to misunderstanding of the other side’s culture and intentions, while also misjudging the readiness of their own citizens to pay with their lives and treasure.
This results in policies that are mismatched with a nation’s ability to respond correctly to the changing environment and circumstances — requiring the active misleading of the public with false and manipulated information.
In the current nuclear crisis with Iran, the West was in danger of repeating some of the same mistakes.
“Beyond Iran’s nuclear deal,” Hossein Mousavian, Kyodo News, November 26, 2013.
France makes historical mistake blocking Iranian nuclear deal (Video)
“France makes historical mistake blocking Iranian nuclear deal,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Russia Today, November 19, 2013. (Video)
It was not sanctions that brought Iran to the table
As Iran meets world powers in Geneva today for this month’s second round of talks on its nuclear programme, there is much self-congratulation about the supposed effectiveness of the sanctions after decades of intransigence.
But the idea that it is sanctions that have brought Tehran to the table is wrong. The real cause is the desire of new President Hassan Rouhani to reach a rapprochement with the US, the EU, its neighbours and other world powers, alongside the fact that the US red line has changed from “no enrichment of uranium” to “no nuclear bomb”.
“It was not sanctions that brought Iran to the table,” Hossein Mousavian, Financial Times, November 19, 2013.
7 Reasons Iran nuclear deal a win-win for all parties
The negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program held in Geneva, Nov. 7–9, made unprecedented progress toward an agreement. US Secretary of State John Kerry announced at the conclusion of the talks, “We came to Geneva to narrow the differences, and I can tell you without any reservations, we made significant progress. It takes time to build confidence between countries that have really been at odds with each other for a long time now.”
The French position, however, surprised everyone. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned that a rush to an agreement would be a “fool’s game.” Informed sources told Al-Monitor that Britain, China, Germany, Russia, and the United States and Iran had been amenable to signing a draft agreement but that Paris then moved to block the deal. There are 7 reasons to help France, the US Congress, Israel and some of the Arab states rethink their position, which is blocking a win-win deal.
“7 Reasons Iran nuclear deal a win-win for all parties,” Hossein Mousavian, Al-Monitor, November 9, 2013.
