US Faced with Big Iran Test
Despite being successful in domestic policies, the Democrats have always been accused of utilizing solutions in foreign policy issues which have never led to any serious success for the US. Will their policies with regard to solving the Iran problem once again be defeated or will they succeed?
An important part of Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech in Mashhad on the first day of the new year was related to a big event which might not be easily proposed in the future if it does not take place this year. This issue is related to Iran-US relations, particularly the nuclear negotiations, that are now on the verge of new developments no matter on what path they had been directed in the past. What happened in the past was all based on the foundation of mistrust and the US Administration has not attempted to remove this mistrust, even during the first term of Obama’s presidency. But what is now apparent is that steps have been taken by the US Administration and Iran has also stated its readiness to solve this problem.
Recently, Ayatollah Khamenei has discussed this matter at least two times and demanded that the US Administration show that it is really determined to solve this problem. On the other hand, the US Administration, while providing the ground in the new cabinet and apparently convincing Israel, has still maintained its demanding demeanor and gives the concessions it has promised in a very minimal way. This is while during the past few years, it has created obstacles for the government of Iran and has not shown any sign of seriousness in its behavior to solve this issue.
Clearly, the idea alone of sitting at the negotiating table and declaring one’s readiness, even in the way Obama has explicitly done so, will not solve the problem. The problem will only be solved when the US takes a huge step to show that it is seriously determined to solve the issue.
Taking a big step can both regain the trust of the Iranian officials and also introduce the US as a government which is willing to solve the problem.
Naturally, in that case, considering the pressures it has tolerated during these years due to its mistrust with regard to the western countries, Iran can take a step forward for this problem to be solved. This is what can be interpreted from Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech.
On the other hand, what benefits will there be for the western governments, especially the US, if the problem is not solved? It is obvious that not only will the US not gain much, but an important problem will also be added to the existing ones which it will be engaged in for many years to come; a problem which is more significant than the US’ problems in Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, Syria, and even North Korea which it is involved with right now.
At this historical juncture, the US is faced with a big test and the Obama administration can now show that it has the ability to change its policies, just as he had claimed five years ago.