• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, May 23, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

What Will it Take for Iran and the US to Bury the Hatchet? [Part III]

Hossein Askari by Hossein Askari
10/05/19
in Opinion
Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Photo: Jewel Samad, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

This is part three of a three-part series. Read part one here and part two here.


With each passing day demonizing Iran for terrorism, interference in other countries, and human rights violations, it becomes increasingly more difficult to persuade Americans of the need for reconciliation and better relations with Iran. And with each passing day of harsh sanctions on Iran without acceptable justification, the Iranian people’s support for the regime in Tehran increases while anti-American and anti-Saudi sentiments grow.

US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump. Photo: Jim Watson, AFP

Time is not on the side of better Iran-U.S. relations. Distrust of the U.S. has ballooned among leaders in Tehran after the U.S. tore up the nuclear deal and exited the agreement. War, or an accidental war, is much more likely today than reconciliation and fruitful relations.

The productive way forward is not a series of timid confidence-building steps but a bold, comprehensive approach to simultaneously address Iranian as well as international concerns. Partial solutions will only result in an unraveling when an unaddressed issue comes to the fore.

Meaningful Solution

A first step in the process of reconciliation should be for each side to agree to a format for meetings designed to settle all grievances. A brief meeting here and there between the two presidents, although affording historic photo-ops, will help little and could even be counterproductive.

To reach a meaningful solution to the many issues dividing Iran and the U.S., these meetings would take many months. Each side should carefully choose a group of specialists (representing all areas of contention, such as security, military, economic, and human rights) who harbor no personal agenda and have a deep understanding of the other side.

This should be followed by a presentation of a laundry list of each side’s grievances, real or imagined, to develop a mutually acceptable agenda.

Lists of Grievances

For Iran, the critical items on the list would likely include: the immediate removal of all sanctions, a timetable for a significant, if not total, withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Persian Gulf region, no interference in Iran’s internal affairs, the elimination of all covert operations in the area, and the prohibition of the sale of weapons to every country in the Middle East.

For the U.S., the likely list would include: non-interference in the internal affairs of countries in the Middle East, limitations on support for Hezbollah and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and elsewhere, the removal of Iranian forces and agents from all countries in the region, limitations on Iran’s offensive weaponry, permanent limitations with iron-clad verification on Iran’s nuclear program, non-interference with shipping in the Persian Gulf, and more for the sake of appearance, concessions on human rights.

While the two lists of demands may seem manageable, the issues are contentious, and many are reciprocal – for instance, the withdrawal of forces from other counties. If the U.S. demands withdrawal of Iranian-backed forces and advisors from other countries in the region (Iraq and Syria), Iran will require the same of the United States in a number of countries in the area (Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, and Afghanistan), something that the U.S. would have a hard time accepting.

If the U.S. presses to limit Iran’s missile program, then Iran would demand the same of Israel and the American military in the region, and the destruction of hundreds of Saudi missiles bought from China.

If the U.S. pushes for more stringent limitations on Iran’s nuclear program, Iran would demand the same of U.S. allies in the region and as a bargaining chip would insist that Israel gives up its nuclear warheads to make the entire Middle East nuclear-free.

A limitation on the export of lethal U.S. arms to the Middle East would be problematic for American weapon manufacturers, for some members of Congress in whose districts such arms are manufactured, and for the U.S. defense department, which promotes weapon sales to allies to pre-position arms for U.S. forces in case of conflict.

Making Concessions

These are all problematic areas for Iran and for the U.S. to make concessions, but they are essential for meaningful reconciliation and peace. This is especially so for the United States as it is not accustomed to negotiating, but prefers dictating on such matters to other countries.

Unfortunately, although to be avoided at all costs, a decisive war followed by a generous armistice would cast aside many of these contentious issues. These negotiations are made more difficult because of U.S. withdrew from the nuclear deal.

France, Germany, and the UK regret the U.S. decision to leave the JCPOA. The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 8, 2018

Although Iran has not broken any signed commitments since the signing of the nuclear deal, at a minimum, the U.S. would want acceptance of any agreement by Iran’s Supreme Leader, its Council of Guardians, its Expediency Council, its president, and its Revolutionary Guards.

Reconciliation

Again, time is not on the side of reconciliation because with every passing day, sanctions take a heavier toll, suspicions grow, positions harden, and reconciliation becomes more difficult. Unfortunately, the inflammatory rhetoric from both the U.S. and Iran and Washington’s tightened sanctions have made even the likelihood of a productive meeting less likely.

For meaningful reconciliation, realistically the U.S. would need a strong president who can set aside the “perceived” and limited national interests of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and, most importantly, Israel and its lobbying power in the United States.

The focus must be on long-term U.S. national interests, which of course would incorporate the more legitimate needs of its allies. Iran must let go of the past and its memory of U.S. interference and look to the future.

While the demands of reconciliation may appear insurmountable, the fallout of war will be catastrophic for all countries involved and even for the world at large.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Hossein Askari

Hossein Askari

Emeritus Iran Professor of International Business and International Affairs at the George Washington University. In 1991, he was asked by the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia to mediate and restore their diplomatic relations and by the government of Kuwait to improve relations with Iran

Related Posts

A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.
Opinion

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

by Stephen J. Lyons
April 2, 2025
Smoke from the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, from Santa Monica, California, on January 7
National

Los Angeles Fire Deaths at 10 as National Guard Called In

by Staff Writer with AFP
January 10, 2025
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a meeting in New York on September 25, 2019
World

Zelensky Says ‘Unpredictable’ Trump Could Help End War

by Staff Writer with AFP
January 2, 2025
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.
National

Trump Wishes ‘Merry Christmas’ to ‘Left Lunatics’ in Frenzy of Social Posts

by Staff Writer with AFP
December 27, 2024
US President Donald Trump inspects border wall prototypes
National

Trump Confirms Plan to Use Military for Mass Deportation

by Staff Writer with AFP
November 18, 2024
US President Donald Trump displays a sign saying 'Trump digs coal' during a rally.
National

Gore Says Climate Progress ‘Won’t Slow Much’ Because of Trump

by Staff Writer with AFP
November 26, 2024
Next Post
Afghanistan children fly kites during a kite festival in Kabul, November, 2016

Afghan Generation Knows Only Conflict as War Turns 18

US President Donald Trump

US Federal Judge Says Trump Must Produce Tax Returns

Recommended

Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest

‘Red Alert’: Fires Drive Tropical Forest Loss to Record High

May 21, 2025
Men pass a young girl to safety over rubble in Jabalia Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025. Search and rescue teams rescue a Palestinian girl from under the rubble after the Israeli army attacked a building at the Jabalia Refugee Camp

WHO Chief Says 2 Million ‘Starving’ in Gaza

May 20, 2025
Calais, successful crossing of migrants to England

UK PM Says in Talks Over Third Country ‘Return Hubs’ for Migrants

May 16, 2025
AI chatbot applications.

Meta Faces Row Over Plan to Use European Data for AI

May 14, 2025
A photo taken with a drone over Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Johnny Miller/Millefoto

White S. Africans Due for US Resettlement to Leave Sunday: Govt

May 12, 2025
Cardinal Robert Prevost, newly elected as Pope Leo XIV is seen on the Saint Peter’s Basilica balcony, at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican on May 8, 2025

New Pope Leo XIV Has Mixed Record on Abuse: Campaigners

May 9, 2025

Opinion

A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Putin talks to Trump in Hamburg

From Roosevelt to Trump: The Complicated Legacy of Personal Diplomacy

November 15, 2024
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Can the UN Human Rights Council Protect Rights While Abusers Sit at the Table?

October 28, 2024
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post