Iran: What does the US really want?
There is no doubt that the most talked-about topic at the UN General Assembly in New York last week was Iran. US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gave their speeches and departed, leaving observers behind to digest their meaning.
Trump said it was possible that Rouhani was “a lovely man,” but there was no evidence in his speech that this was the US leader’s opinion. Trump tore into Iran, which he described as a “corrupt dictatorship” whose leaders sowed “chaos, death and destruction” throughout the Middle East and beyond.
Nevertheless, he offered negotiations with Tehran. He wants to talk about a complete end to Iran’s nuclear activities, civilian or otherwise, about its ballistic missile program, and about its regional meddling. None of these issues, of course, are viewed as negotiable in Tehran.
In the meantime, tough US sanctions against Iran continue, to be supplemented on Nov. 4 with reimposed sanctions on the Iranian energy sector, aimed at reducing its oil exports to zero.
When Rouhani spoke, he made it clear that if Trump wants negotiations, he must first recognize and respect the UN resolution that underpins the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — and that’s not going to happen either.
Until the US president explains what his ultimate aim is in imposing tough sanctions against Iran, it is likely that the regime in Tehran will continue with its current course of action.
Camelia Entekhabifard
So there is a clear standoff: Trump wants a new and more secure nuclear deal, but Iran says that won’t happen unless he accepts the existing one. This conflict of interests is dangerous for the whole region. No one sees any prospect on the horizon of an improvement in relations between the US and Iran, or of either side accepting the other’s conditions for talks. Apart from the US, the whole Security Council supports the Iranian view on the nuclear deal, but no one has a solution to end the deadlock.
Those who suffer most are ordinary Iranians. They have no clear idea of what Trump really wants. He says regime change is not on his agenda and that sanctions are aimed at Iran’s leaders, to curb their military adventurism. The ordinary Iranians want to know if regime change is not the purpose of sanctions what is the purpose? And what happens if the sanctions do not change the regime’s behavior?
In Tehran, the political leaders have no doubt about the ultimate aim of the US policy. They believe it is intended to dislodge them from power. Their response is likely to be only further aggression throughout the region, and against the Iranian people themselves.
The US has so far failed to say directly and clearly what it wants to achieve with these extraordinarily tough sanctions on the Iranian people, other than that the aim is to dry up the financial resources of the regional militias.
As long as the regime in Tehran fears for its future, it is difficult to believe that anyone there will negotiate with Trump. And until the US president explains what his ultimate aim is, it is likely that the regime in Tehran will continue with its current course of action.
Camelia Entekhabifard is an Iranian-American journalist, political commentator and author of Camelia: Save Yourself By Telling the Truth (Seven Stories Press, 2008).
Twitter: @CameliaFard
