Washington, DC – Jamal Abdi, President of the National Iranian American Council, issued the following statement after Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, issued statements on negotiations with Iran over the weekend:
“Remarks from Iranian officials over the weekend suggest there is an opening for diplomacy if the United States focuses on realistic goals.
“The message from Tehran this weekend, while not directly addressing a letter purportedly sent from Trump to Khamenei, was that if the U.S. seeks an agreement that verifiably ensures Iran does not develop nuclear weapons, the door for talks may be open. However, the message was primarily that, if the U.S. seeks total capitulation and conventional disarmament from Iran, there won’t be talks.
“The President has publicly stated that he seeks negotiations focused on ensuring Iran does not develop nuclear weapons. However, we are concerned his administration is sending mixed signals to Iran about the scope of negotiations beyond the nuclear file that could tank hopes for negotiations. We are reminded of then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s infamous “12 demands” of maximalist preconditions for an agreement in Trump’s first term, which only accomplished the neocon’s goal of ensuring the President would never get to the negotiating table and Iran’s nuclear stockpile expanded. We hope we are not seeing the same diplomatic sabotage playing out again.
“While there are some around the President who invoke fantastical demands like demanding zero enrichment or applying “the Libya model” to Iran, there is precedent for Trump overcoming such hurdles imposed by his own team in his first term. While John Bolton invoked the “Libya model” as a goal for negotiations with North Korea – widely perceived as demanding disarmament that opened the door to the military operation that killed former Libyan ruler Muammar Qadaffi and overthrew his government – the remarks were walked back by the White House and later earned a rebuke from President Trump. Likewise, with Iran today, there is a need for the administration to focus its goals in a way that doesn’t turn Iran away from the negotiating table as was the case with North Korea seven years ago.
“It is vitally important for Iran to make this position clear, and not open to interpretation, including by communicating through trusted mediators directly to the Trump administration. Likewise, the U.S. should make clear to Iran whether it would be willing to focus on achievable goals.
“The risks of war are real and will grow if an impasse sets in. Now is the time to communicate bottom lines and begin to build trust to engage in consequential diplomacy.”
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