A new approach by the United States and mutual respect are essential requirements for new negotiations between Tehran and Washington, the top Iranian diplomat said.
In a recent interview with USA Today, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed that the initiation of Iran-US talks does not need a new American administration, but rather a new policy.
“I’m … laying the foundation for a fruitful dialogue. It doesn’t have to be a different administration; it requires a different approach,” he said.
Iran reached an agreement with the US and five other world powers on its nuclear program in 2015, but the incumbent US President Donald Trump abandoned the accord and restored sanctions on Tehran.
With Trump’s harsh policies, the prospects of new negotiations between the two sides have dimmed, fueling speculations that Iran aims to wait out his administration.
The foreign minister rejected the proposition, saying that Iran is instead willing to wait out the present US policies.
“We want to see a different approach. We don’t care about who is behind that approach,” he said.
Key Prerequisite
Zarif pointed out that although mutual trust is not a requirement to start negotiations, “mutual respect” is a major prerequisite.
“Mutual respect starts with respecting yourself … your signature … your own word,” he said, referring to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
Zarif described the US as an unreliable negotiating partner because it walked away from “not a two-page, but a 150-page agreement” with Iran.
“It wasn’t our fault ... It’s a problem that the international community is facing,” he said.
According to the foreign minister, the present US administration “does not believe in diplomacy;” nevertheless, a shift of policy within this government is possible.
“I believe human beings are able to change. This administration can have a different approach.”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani echoed the same view in a meeting with senior economic officials in Tehran on Monday.
He emphasized that Iran is not averse to engaging in a dialogue with the US on condition that the parties honor their own word and promises.
“One could sit, talk and get a result if the other party is committed to its pledges," he was quoted as saying by the president's official website.
Rouhani added that new negotiations are futile, as long as the previous agreement is not respected.
“First respect the negotiations that we earlier had, which led to a result so as to pave the way for a next round of talks,” he said, addressing the American leadership.
According to the president, while he was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September, some world leaders had mediated so that he would meet his American counterpart.
“This needs no intermediaries … Fulfill your commitments and we will talk,” he said.
Interaction Possible
Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, also recently raised the possibility of engagement with the US, but only if it desists from its pursuit of domination.
“When the United States puts its domination-seeking attitude aside, we can interact with it like other countries. However, it is unlikely to happen because a desire for domination is deeply ingrained in the world arrogant power," he said.
Iran’s positive attitude to diplomacy and dialogue has been voiced at the parliamentary level as well.
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, chairman of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said in recent remarks that negotiations between Tehran and Washington are no longer a taboo, although it is very unlikely under Trump.
“Iran’s approaches in today’s world have reached a level of maturity that negotiation even with governments that adopt anti-Iranian policies is not regarded a taboo,” he said.
