Iranian Nuclear Talks

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In The Media

Iranian Nuclear Talks

A big challenge for the Iranian nuclear negotiations is finding a technical resolution to what is really a political conflict.

By Karim Sadjadpour

Published on Nov 24, 2014

Source: Charlie Rose

Speaking on Charlie Rose about the Iranian nuclear talks, Carnegie’s Karim Sadjadpour said that a big challenge is finding a technical resolution to what is really a political conflict. Both Washington and Tehran recognize that no one wants to go back to the status quo ante, to escalation, he said.

For the Iranian government, and in particular for the Supreme Leader Khamenei, not doing a nuclear deal is a big economic risk, but there’s a potentially larger political risk in agreeing to a nuclear deal, Sadjadpour argued, because Khamenei has prioritized hostilities with the United States for 25 years. The real challenge for the United States is that the policies which are used to counter Iran’s nuclear aspirations, political and economic isolation, in many ways entrench these very hardline forces in Iran, he added. “We have to think more creatively about how we get on the right side of the Iranian people’s aspiration as well, not just against the nuclear aspiration of the Iranian government.”

This interview was originally aired on Charlie Rose.

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.

Recent Work

Q&A
What’s Keeping the Iranian Regime in Power—for Now
- Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour, Robin Wright
Q&A
How Washington and Tehran Are Assessing Their Next Steps
- Aaron David Miller, David Petraeus, Karim Sadjadpour

Political Reform Foreign Policy Nuclear Policy North America United States Middle East Iran

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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