“How Iran Might Respond to a US Military Strike on Syria,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Marco Werman, PRI’s The World, September 3, 2013. (Audio)
Tag: Peaceful Settlement
Sudden Love USA – Iran (Greek)
“Sudden Love USA – Iran,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Irini Mitropoulou, To Vima, October 1, 2013. (Greek)
US-Iran talks are an opportunity for reconciliation that must not be wasted
The recent exchange of letters between Iranian and American presidents, coupled with positive statements from two capitals have created hopes for a possible breakthrough in Iran-US relations. Iran is ready to “build trust” with the United States, Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, stated and White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said: “We remain ready to engage with the Rouhani government on the basis of mutual respect to achieve a peaceful resolution to the nuclear issue.”
“US-Iran talks are an opportunity for reconciliation that must not be wasted,” Hossein Mousavian, the Guardian, September 18, 2013.
Hope From Iran, but Not If There’s an Attack
In the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks, Iran and the United States engaged and cooperated directly in the war on terror. This partnership in Afghanistan resulted in the fall of the Taliban and Al Qaeda there, forming a representative government based on democratic principles. This experience can serve as a blueprint for a new collaboration on Syria.
The implications of this cooperation will not be limited to the Syrian crisis and instead would be vital for the security and stability of the whole region. Multiple crisis in the Middle East require broader management for the time, and therefore, crisis management of this and other crises would be a useful path for regional collaboration between Tehran and Washington under the United Nation’s charter.
“Hope From Iran, but Not If There’s an Attack,” Hossein Mousavian, the New York Times, September 4, 2013.
President Rouhani’s inauguration and the future of Iran’s nuclear program negotiations (Japanese)
“President Rouhani’s inauguration and the future of Iran’s nuclear program negotiations,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Marie Tanao-Archer, The Mainichi Newspaper, August 4, 2013. (Japanese)
Death by moderation
“Death by moderation,” Interview with Hossein Mousavian, Omid Memarian, Foreign Policy, August 2, 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.
How to End the Stalemate With Iran
Sooner rather than later, Iran and the United States will engage with each other. The main obstacle to a final deal is no longer its terms, but the path to reaching such an accord. Mr. Rowhani and Mr. Obama must stick to pragmatism and fend off extremism. They must combine prudence with courage and take reciprocal, rationally sequenced steps, and then follow through with hard sells at home. And most of all, they must avoid embracing the misperceptions of strength and weakness that have brought us to the brink. After decades of fruitless confrontation, both the United States and Iran need cooperation.
“How to End the Stalemate With Iran,” Hossein Mousavian & Mohammad Ali Shabani, The New York Times, June 18, 2013.
Next Iranian President Faces Economic, Foreign Policy Tests
For Iranians, the election is about the economy first, foreign policy second. The economic challenges include inflation, unemployment and devaluation of the national currency. Inflation is disproportionately hurting the lower and middle classes. While Iran’s Central Bank reports that the inflation rate for 2012 has been 27.4%, Steve Hanke, professor of Applied Economics at The Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington estimates that Iran experienced an inflation rate of 110% for the same period. This is quadruple the rate reported by the Central Bank.
“Next Iranian President Faces Economic, Foreign Policy Tests,” Hossein Mousavian, Al-Monitor, May 28, 2013.
3 factors set to rescue Iran nuclear talks
The west is eagerly awaiting the results of the upcoming June presidential elections in Iran to determine whom they will be working with in Tehran for the foreseeable future. Certainly the nuclear issue will remain a high priority for world powers and Iran. Over a decade of negotiations with Tehran, world powers have challenged Iran’s legitimate rights for enrichment under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), yielding no outcome. The world powers have continued hitting the hammer on the same nail and it is time for a renewed look at the status quo.
“3 factors set to rescue Iran nuclear talks,” Hossein Mousavian, Asharq Al-Awsat, May 19, 2013.
