Iran should not tie its own hands in dealing with sanctions with an outright rejection of direct talks with the United States, says a former diplomat.
Trump's offer to negotiate with Tehran is seemingly part of the United States' carrot and stick policy and a similar approach should be adopted by the Iranian government to blunt the effect of sanctions, Ali Khorram told ISNA in an interview published on Sunday.
On Saturday, Trump once again offered to meet with Iranian leaders ahead of US sanctions against the country, which are set to go into effect on Monday. The sanctions follow the president's decision earlier this year to withdraw from the historic 2015 nuclear deal.
He wrote on Twitter: "Iran, and it's [sic] economy, is going very bad, and fast! I will meet, or not meet, it doesn't matter—it is up to them!"
The tweet echoed statements he made earlier as he pushes for a summit with President Hassan Rouhani.
"No preconditions. If they want to meet, I'll meet. Whenever they want," Trump said on July 30, adding that a summit would be "good for the country, good for them, good for us, and good for the world."
Parallel Policies
"They are leaving the door open to dialogue while using all means of leverage [to pressure Iran]," Khorram said, adding, "We should pursue both paths in tandem and at the same time try to insulate our economy against sanctions in our own way."
The international affairs expert says emotional decisions and hasty judgments should be avoided as they would only complicate the situation.
By keeping the door to negotiations open, Iran would have an option to resort to in case it would not be able to resist sanctions in the desired way, Khorram noted.
"When the other side makes a suggestion, that proposal should be studied seriously, and we have to try to formulate and advance our own proposal based on that suggestion."
There is no doubt that the sanctions will have an adverse effect on the economy but its impact could vary depending on how Iran responds to offers of talks, the former diplomat said.
Olive Branch
Trump's offer of an olive branch came after he issued a threat against Iran in an inflammatory tweet on July 22.
In his message directed at Rouhani, Trump wrote: "Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence & death. Be cautious!"
Rouhani had earlier told a gathering of Iranian diplomats, "Mr. Trump, don't play with the lion's tail, this would only lead to regret."
"America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Rouhani said.
Last month, Iran said the White House had asked on eight separate occasions for leader-to-leader meetings, with Rouhani had rebuffed the requests.
