Iran and the US - On the Path to Renewed Relations?

Despite yesterday's New York Times article declaring that "Iran's Supreme Leader Rebuffs Obama", I think there are some encouraging signs that relations between Iran and the US are going to get better.

Throughout his campaign for the Presidency, Barack Obama maintained a unique perspective on what the United State's relations with Iran should be. While many disagreed with President Bush's decision to dub Iran a member of "The Axis of Evil," there were few mainstream politicians who openly advocated the renewal of direct diplomatic negotiations with Iran, which had been terminated after the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979. As a result, Obama's statement that as President he would be open to direct talks with Iranian leaders, without pre-conditions, became debate point during the primary and general campaigns. It was one of the reasons I first became attracted to him as a candidate.

The shift in White House diplomatic rhetoric became apparent not long after his inauguration. Most of the news world was surprised when Obama selected Al Arabiya, an Arabic news station, to conduct his first video interview after the inauguration. When asked about Iran, he maintained the stance of the previous administration in that the United States did not look favorably upon a nuclear weapon-armed Iran, but he also injected a note of conciliatory dialogue.

"Now, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization. Iran has acted in ways that's not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past -- none of these things have been helpful.

But I do think that it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress. And we will over the next several months be laying out our general framework and approach. And as I said during my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us."

Al Arabiya interview - 26/01/09
A full transcript of the interview can be found here.

This week the White House released a video on the beginning the Iranian holiday of Nowruz, which marks the beginning of spring and the new year. The message heavily emphasized a language of respect for the Iranian history and culture.

Of course, a rhetoric of respect on one side does not mean that the diplomatic issues that have divided the US and Iran are going to somehow resolve themselves. For one thing, Iranian leaders themselves have been fairly reticent in their response to the message. President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Khamenei both pointed out in this week that US and US engineered sanctions against Iran remain in place, preventing the trade of many goods that would be extremely beneficial to Iran's economy. Khamenei, before a crowd of ten thousand in the city of Mashaad, declared that “They chant the slogan of change but no change is seen in practice,” and, unless you count the American invitation of Iran to a panel on Afghanistan, he's right. While its rhetoric has shifted substantially, White House policy towards is essentially unchanged in these first few weeks of the Obama Administration.

Then again, this is how things get started.

In his speech Khamenei also addressed the American nation saying, “should you change, our behavior will change, too.” One way to look at this situation is to see it as a mirror of the last 30 years of policy in which each side refused to budge until the other backed down. But I choose to emphasize, with the coming of a new regime, the possibility that United States is on the verge of a paradigm shift. Obama's foreign policy has always projected itself as much more conciliatory than its predecessor's - a magnanimous gesture such as reducing sanctions, or suggesting the establishment of embassies, is very much in keeping with the political image Obama has generated for himself thus far.

Ultimately, I am aware that Obama has yet to radically evolve the way the United States and Iran interact, and I'm conscious that he probably will be unable make a significant change until after the economic crisis at home has been resolved. But, in seeing all the political groundwork-laying work that the Obama administration has performed, I am fairly "hopeful" that there will be an evolution in the way the White House does international relations. Obama has talked the talk - now let's see the "change" he intends to bring to American Foreign Policy.

An Experience I will Remember Forever

Tonight is a moment I will remember forever.

The moment that CNN predicted a victory for Barack Obama was a powerful instant in time. A room that was filled with students, half black and half white, shouted with a single voice as a clear majority was announced for the man I had supported since the Iowa caucus in January 2008.

I ran outside a few moments later, along with the rest of the crowd. It was a calm Boston night - cool, but not cool enough to discourage the people who had voted for the next president from leaving their homes and from announcing their victory to world. The cheering of that crowd held, and always will hold, a great feeling of satisfaction for me.

I withdrew to watch McCain's concession speech, which, being the first I had heard in my adult life, reminded me that there is such a thing as magnanimity in American politics. Say what you will about the man - McCain was a person who suffered for a cause he believed in, and at the close of his greatest political effort urged his followers to follow behind his opponent - an act, I believe, that reveals this nation is not as divided as we would sometimes believe.

History, friends, belongs not only to the distant past.

I typically am very hesitant to be caught up in adulation for any given cause or person. My education has been enough to convince me that eloquent and yet misguided people have ridden a wave of political enthusiasm to win the conscience of a people who would have been better served otherwise. But tonight, as I left the celebration of my peers to join the celebration of the streets, I felt like a moment had occurred, an achievement had been earned, a victory had been won for which I could earnestly and unabashedly be proud to have participant.

The walk towards my train home lasted twenty minutes. Whenever during that time I came across any person I let out a whoop! and held out my hand. Not once - not once - was the gesture not met with equal enthusiasm and an equally broad grin. Not once, whether the hand was extended to a white man, to a black woman, or to the passengers of a nearby cab - not once was the smile and whoop! not returned. I enjoyed tonight a sensation that I rarely feel, the unabashed joy of being part of a righteous collective, all laughing through the streets on a wonderful journey home.

I could hear the city cheer.

At the moment, folks, I don't care about the fact that I live in an oasis. I don't care that my home is one of the few places in the country where someone of my religious, political, and moral mindset can live in peace. Despite all this, I know in my heart that Barack Obama will be a powerful force of good for this country. The president-elect will represent an America that is proud to be a member of an international community, champion the defense of human rights, and aggressively seek to save the world from a climate crisis that threatens to doom us all.

"Change" and "Hope" are not empty, abstract words tonight - not to me. Now, more than ever, I am proud to be a United States citizen. I believe that tonight my country is one step closer to being part of a united and just world.