Source: WBUR Here and Now
Speaking to Here and Now, Carnegie’s Karim Sadjadpour said that since becoming Iran’s president last year, Hassan Rouhani has tried to reconcile Iran’s revolutionary ideology with its national interests. However, Sadjadpour argued, these two things will be very difficult to resolve and there’s a group of very powerful, entrenched hardliners who stand to lose a lot if Iran becomes more integrated with the outside world political and economically.
“In order to reach a nuclear deal with the United States, Rouhani needs to somehow win the support of hardline forces within the Revolutionary Guards and the office of the Supreme Leader, who really oversee Iran’s nuclear program,” Sadjadpour said. Congress is very skeptical of these talks—they feel like it was their sanctions which forced Iran to the nuclear negotiating table, he concluded, and if a deal is not reached within the next six months, Congress is intent on passing new sanctions.