Letter to Araghchi: US Dialogue without Preconditions

This is an open letter to Iran's Foreign Minister, Mr. Abbas Araghchi, regarding US-Iran relations. Mr. Araghchi has recently stated that Iran will not negotiate under pressure. In light of President Trump's renewal of the "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran, Mr. Araghchi has sent a clear signal that Iran cannot be bullied and will not be brought to its knees, to invoke the term used by President Pezeshkian.

 But, although this might seem like a sound strategy, in fact it is not and it is highly problematic, in light of the precious window of opportunity to avoid the "snapback" UN sanctions on Iran, requiring deft and "smart diplomacy" on Iran's part.

 First, suffice to draw a lesson from the recent developments in US-Russia relations. Presidents Trump and Putin have already engaged in telephone diplomacy and are planning to meet face to face in Saudi Arabia, despite the tough US sanctions on Russia. Clearly, President Putin did not make any demand to the US, knowing full well that any changes on US's part will come as a result of direct negotiations. Similarly, Iran should drop any demand that, e.g., US freezes sanctions on Iran, as a precondition for direct negotiations.

 Second, Iran and US have shared interests in the region, such as with respect to the threat of ISIS terrorism, and it is a mistake to portray the US presence in the region as simply counterproductive. Even the news from Iraq suggests that there is a great deal of re-thinking on the part of Iraqi lawmakers who had demanded the full departure of US forces from the country.

 Third, US sanctions on Iran even under Trump have made allowances for 'loopholes' such as with respect to Iraq and India (in Chahbahar), and therefore it is simplistic to adopt a Manichean lens for analyzing these issues, when in fact a multi-layered and nuanced lens is called for.

 Hence, Mr. Araghchi should focus on delivering greater transparency on what Iran aims to achieve in an equitable negotiation with the US (and other western powers)? Certainly, greater confidence-building on Iran's nuclear intentions is required and a new deal with the atomic agency, the IAEA, can go a long way in this regard. But, for Mr. Araghchi to continue to insist that US should drop its sanctions, which serve as negotiation leverages from Washington's perspective, is a recipe for failure. Rather, a bold new diplomacy toward Washington is needed, based purely on Iran's national interests, that prioritizes peace, prosperity, and stability in the region. Unfortunately, if Mr. Araghchi persists in this one-dimensional approach toward the US, nothing except more tensions and outside pressures on Iran will be achieved. The methodology of pragmatic realism, instead of dogmatic values, must inform Iran's foreign policy-making, and by all indications at the moment that is sadly not the case.