add to facebook
The Iran Proposal
Travis | Sep 11, 2009 |
0 
Stalemate
Anyone who hopes that the United States will reach a peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear program should be frustrated by Tehran’s newly-released response to Western diplomatic overtures. Instead of addressing its nuclear program directly, Iran expressed an interest in pursuing,
"…within the framework of principles of justice, democracy and multilateralism, a wide range of security, political, economic and cultural issues at regional and global levels…with a view of fostering constructive cooperation for advancement of nations and promotion of peace and stability in the region and the world."
Samareh Hashemi, a top aide to President Ahmadinejad, compared Iran’s proposal to President Obama’s Prague speech calling for the eventual abolition of nuclear weapons. Which brings up an interesting question: Did Obama’s Prague speech seem as vacuous and disingenuous to the Iranians as this written response seems to me?
Adding to my aggravation...
...was Hashemi’s comment to the Washington Post that one practical step the United States could take to demonstrate its commitment to improving relations would be “apologizing for…interfering in Iran's election and other instances of meddling.” Does the United States meddle in Iran through democracy promotion programs and such? Yes. Was the United States responsible for the election unrest earlier this year? Absolutely not. It is obscene for Hashemi to blame the Iranian regime’s cold-blooded violence on the United States.
Yet all is not lost, says NIAC’s Patrick Disney. Though he acknowledges that the Iranian response is disappointing, he points out that the document actually does not reject negotiations, as some news agencies have reported. “We stand ready to enter into this dialogue on the basis of godly and human principles and values,” the proposal states. “Iran voices its readiness to embark on comprehensive, all-encompassing and constructive negotiations aimed at acquiring a clear framework for cooperative relationship by ensuring the adherence of all parties to collective commitments,” it continues. That last invocation of “commitments” could be an oblique reference to the NPT, Disney writes, which would be both a criticism of Israel and a (perhaps unintentional) reminder of Iran’s legal obligations.
Interestingly enough, two analysts from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum agree that the proposal evinces Iran’s commitment to secure a seat at the great power table. At Contentions, Emanuele Ottolenghi writes that we should recognize in the proposal “the recurrence of Iran’s central grievance – namely, the need for a new world order where Iran, as a leading member of the Non-Aligned Movement, has its proper place in the sun.” He then goes on the Clash of Civilizations and Iran-as-Exporter-of-Global-Theocracy rants, which I’ll spare you. From the other side of the analytical universe, Trita Parsi reaches the same basic conclusion. The broader aim of Iran’s response, he writes, is “to institutionalize the great power's recognition of Iran's role and seat at the table.”
If these analyses are accurate, it’s worth reiterating that Iran’s desire to revise the status quo and become a more important power, and the U.S. desire to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, are not mutually exclusive objectives. Iran can upgrade its power status both in the Middle East and internationally without acquiring a nuclear weapon. Indeed, the best way for Tehran to increase its power and influence would probably be to stop its enrichment program, reenter productive relations with the West, pursue internal political reform, build its economy, and use the resultant growth in economic resources to modernize its conventional armed forces. Since this course of events would ultimately remove the regime from power, however, Iran’s leaders are not likely to start down such a slippery slope.
|
The Iran Proposal | 0 Comments | Post a Comment
|
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account by clicking right here. It's quick and free.
