Supporting Rohani and Zarif, a National Responsibility

Some people criticize me for being optimistic about Iran’s future. Before, I was concerned about who was negotiating with whom in our foreign negotiations. Do those people who are assigned to negotiate understand world affairs? There were people who still thought we were living in the Cold War era and intended to deal with these issues with the same tools, but the Cold War was over.

Diplomacy is the continuation of macro-internal policies. Diplomacy for diplomacy is meaningless. We need a diplomacy which is in line with national interests. Some mention development; but there is a paradox; Why is Iran, which has all the tools, possibilities and conditions for development, not developed yet? So long as this question is not answered, no other question could be proposed. How could development programs be achieved while the basic prerequisites are not paid attention to? How could one talk about development in a country which is still suffering from the old disease of escaping from the law?

Some people point out the positions of the West with regard to Iran. We must ask ourselves this question: how much of the West’s judgments are caused by the unwise statements made by some of our officials? We should not always blame the West because sometimes we have been responsible for these judgments.

It is stated in the Holy Quran that the will to resolve matters must exist among you. This verse is not related only to personal matters. It refers to any dispute and that the will of both parties will resolve the differences. I believe that this will does exist in both Iran and the US now and a historic opportunity has now been created.

I am a critic of Iran’s policies in Iraq and the Middle East. Iran helped in Afghanistan to topple the Taliban. All Jihadi groups had reached an agreement on Hamed Karzai. But Iran could not utilize all the cooperation because George W. Bush did not agree. Iran’s reward was its placement in the Axis of Evil. But now the conditions have changed. Obama is determined to resolve the differences and Iran must not lose this opportunity. That is why I criticize Iran’s policy in Iraq based on not cooperating directly with the US. Iran and the US practically have the same interests in Iraq and this should become official. I agree with the analysis that Iran has a very special and exceptional situation in the Middle East. But how does Iran intend to use it? Now that the taboo of negotiations between Iran and the US has been broken and they are talking with each other, Iran must officially announce its cooperation with the US in order to use this matter to its own benefit. This means going beyond the resolution of the nuclear issue. Today we witness a sectarian war in the Middle East. The root of this war is in Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabis. Iran could use this situation to exert pressure on Saudi Arabia to end this sectarian war. It is my analysis that Iran could pursue this path.

Israel is the biggest opponent of an agreement and the improvement of relations between Iran and the US. Israel is placed in the worst historical position now and this is unprecedented. Israel must accept Resolution 242 of the Security Council and return to the border lines before 1962. Right now 150 independent countries have officially recognized Palestine. If Israel uses its influence to prevent an agreement between Iran and the US, why doesn’t Iran use its influence to resolve the crisis in Palestine? Iran must fully support Palestine so that Israel would implement Resolution 242. Iran could move along the line of Obama’s policy in this regard.

I do not agree with the analysis that the differences between Iran and the US are fake. Obama did not visit Israel during his first term as president. But he made this visit in his second term because he had won without Israel’s support. His speech in Tel Aviv shows that he is determined to establish peace in the Middle East. When Carter acknowledges Israel as the biggest problem in the Middle East and responsible for all crises in this region, Iran could use this matter to resolve the issue and confront Israel. But this is not our foreign policy.

In the end, I feel that for the first time the task is given to the real experts and this raises our hopes. That is why I am optimistic and I believe that Mr. Rohani’s administration and Mr. Zarif could resolve this issue, thus, I express my support and consider this a national responsibility for all Iranians.