IranIran indicates willingness to rethink nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief
As part of a series of steps designed to present post-election Iran as more pragmatic, President Hassan Rouhani and his advisers indicated they would be willing to consider curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from the crippling economic sanctions imposed on Iran. Some Western experts say that all these steps are more than mere cosmetic changes, while skeptics note that Obama has reached out to Iran before, with no results. Veterans of past nuclear negotiations with Iran also noted that it is likely that Rouhani’s team may not yet fully understand the kinds of concessions that the Islamic republic would be required to make to have the most painful economic sanctions lifted.
In a series of public announcements and private communications, Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, has indicated that Iran would be willing to change its position on the country’s controversial nuclear program in order to have the crippling economic sanctions on Iran removed.
A close adviser to Rouhani, told the New York Times that a letter by President Obama, delivered to the Iranian president three weeks ago, promised relief from sanctions if Iran demonstrated a willingness to “cooperate with the international community, keep your commitments and remove ambiguities.” The text of the letter has not been made public.
A senior American official did not dispute the general outlines of the letter, but told the Times that Obama had not promised Iran quick relief from sanctions, and had not discussed any detailed proposal.
Amir Mohebbian, an Iranian political analyst with close ties to the Iranian leadership, said that if the economic sanctions were lifted, Iran might be willing to curb its nuclear enrichment program.
Rohani responded to Obama’s page-and-a-half letter with a letter of similar length of his own.
The senior American official said that Obama, in his letter, had congratulated Rouhani on his election, but that on sanctions the Iranians were inferring policy proposals from the president’s more general pledge to resolve issues and move forward.
The Iranian reaction to the letter, experts say, does offer insight into what may well be a decisive shift in strategy by the moderate new president. The positive response to Oabama’s letter appears to be part of a series of steps changing the direction of the Iranian state, including domestic liberalizations, telling the politically powerful military to stay in the barracks, and a change in tone in Iranian diplomatic language. One example of the latter would be the surprising public Rosh Hashana message Rouhani issued to the Jewish people last week, a stark change from his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in the habit of denying the Holocaust and using blatant anti-Semitic language.
Some experts argue that all these are more than mere cosmetic changes.
In an article published in the Washington Post, Rouhani said world leaders should “seize the opportunity presented by Iran’s recent election.”
“I urge them to make the most of the mandate for prudent engagement that my people have given me and to respond genuinely to my government’s efforts to engage in constructive dialogue,” he wrote.
Skeptics noted that Obama has reached out to Iran before, with no results.
Veterans of past negotiations with Iran also noted that they fear that Rouhani’s team may not yet fully understand the kinds of concessions that the Islamic republic would be required to make to have the most painful economic sanctions lifted. So far, Iranian officials have hinted at a willingness to accept minor limits on their nuclear program, which would not prevent a quick drive for a bomb.
“Charm alone is insufficient to achieve the kind of sanctions relief they’re looking for,” Gary Samore, who until early this year was Obama’s principal adviser on arms control and weapons of mass destruction, told the Washington Post. “So far I haven’t seen the Iranians indicating a willingness to take the dramatic steps necessary to lift the biggest sanctions.”
