Q&A
Suzanne Maloney, Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour
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Source: Getty
In The Media
Iran’s New President Mounts A Charm Offensive
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani may be interested in a détente with the United States, but thorny issues remain. Nonetheless, the United States should seize the opportunity.
Published on Sep 20, 2013
Source: NPR's Morning Edition
Launching “one of the greatest charm offensives since Iran’s 1979 revolution,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has set a tone vis-à-vis the United States that sharply contrasts with that of his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Describing Rouhani’s election and his actions since then as a “surprise,” Carnegie’s Karim Sadjadpour believes that the Iranian president is interested in a détente between the United States and Iran, and that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei supports Rouhani’s conciliatory stance.
“The goal of sanctions was … to subject Iran to enough economic pressure in order to compel it to make meaningful nuclear compromises,” Sadjadpour explained. “And now if Iran is showing signs that it’s interested in commencing a diplomatic process, which would culminate in them making meaningful nuclear compromises, I think we have to test that.” However, Sadjadpour argues that the issues of Iran’s support for Hezbollah, its backing the Assad regime in Syria, and its rejection of Israel’s existence will be harder for Rouhani to change and will continue to present a great challenge for U.S.-Iranian relations.
This interview was originally broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition.
About the Author
Karim Sadjadpour
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.
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Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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