| NIAC Briefs Congress on US-Iran Cooperation in Afghanistan |
| Written by NIAC Staff | |
| Friday, 27 March 2009 | |
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Hillary Mann Leverett shared first hand experiences negotiating with Iranian officials and discussed the possibilities for successful collaboration in Afghanistan. Leverett's presentation took place just hours after Iran agreed to attend a U.N. conference on Afghanistan sponsored by the United States. Leverett said that decision was likely a response to the positive signals President Obama has been sending Iran, especially his Norooz message. However, Iran is not interested in tactical cooperation, Leverett asserted. Noting the many aborted attempts at tactical cooperation between the two countries under previous presidents, Leverett argued Iran is interested in nothing less than a fundamental realignment in relations. She argued any talks would be structurally flawed without an explicit framework for rapprochement. Without a strategic framework, talks are unlikely to succeed and their failure will take the two countries closer to conflict, she said. Initiating further hostile actions against Iran, such as sanctions, fundamentally undermine diplomacy because they would make Iran question whether the United States is serious about diplomacy and truly willing to improve relations with Iran. Believing otherwise ignores history, she added. The event is part of NIAC's U.S.-Iran Policy Program, which is funded through generous contributions from the Ploughshares Fund, the Kenbe Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and NIAC member donations. |
Washington DC - NIAC held a briefing Thursday on
Capitol Hill titled, "U.S.-Iran Collaboration in Afghanistan: Can the Success
of 2001 Be Repeated?" The event featured
Hillary Mann Leverett, CEO of STRATEGA, a political consulting firm, and the former
Director of Iran and Afghanistan Affairs at the National Security Council. From 2001-2003, she was one of a small number
of U.S. diplomats authorized to negotiate with the Iranians over Afghanistan,
al-Qaeda and Iraq.| < Prev | Next > |
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