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De-Demonizing the Islamic Republic of Iran | IPS Writers in the Blogosphere

by Henry Precht

“Next Steps on Iran.” That was the title of the [seemingly] countless memos that we in the State Department’s Near East Bureau sent to the Secretary and the White House during the chaotic months between the revolution and the hostage crisis in 1979. Our aim was to chart a course that would connect the US with the Khomeini regime and begin in small ways a more normal relationship. We failed. I hope, that the post-Nuclear Deal Iran Desk is working feverishly on a paper suggesting Next Steps towards a country that can be once again be important to the American position in the Middle East.

Unburdened by the bureaucratic need to clear my thoughts with sundry agencies and bureaus, I offer my thoughts on how the Department might occupy itself with Iran in the months ahead.

1.  Take a few months’ break from the details of constraining Iran’s nuclear program. Expectations will be high and the initial proposals from either side will be correspondingly unrealistic. Too many eyes — foreign and domestic — will be peering over the shoulders of negotiators; too many knives will be sharpened to plunge if agreement prospers; too many voices will be primed to cry, “I told you so; you can’t trust those snakes!” So, time out. Let’s change the subject for a bit and hope to move on.

2.  Instead, the US should encourage the modest signs of good will that have appeared on both sides — actually they’ve been visible among Iranians for decades. That would mean:

  • easier access for journalists, academics and selected members of the Congress/Majlis to visit, speak and report home;
  • giving the nod to conferences, athletic events and cultural exchanges;
  • offering an enlarged number of scholarships for study at the other’s universities;
  • engaging each other in discussions of mutual problems, e.g., drug interdiction, climate change;
  • encouraging conversations in the private sector about possible future investments, e.g. in oil field management, nuclear plant safety, agriculture — necessarily without commitments as long as sanctions prohibit;
  • monitoring rhetoric to phase out or tune down “Death to America” and to resist unnecessary, hurtful adjectives.

3.  Involve Iran in seeking solutions to regional problems — Iraq, Afghanistan and, most important, Syria. Try working with Tehran and Riyadh to patch up their relations. Make sure Tehran understands that continued goodwill gestures towards Israel will make life easier for Iran in the US.

4.  Over the umpteenth cup of tea, let Rouhani and Co. know that a lighter hand internally would be of high significance over here. Releasing more political prisoners and detainees will pay extra dividends with some in Congress.

5.  Share our planned approach with Europeans and enlist them in trying to bring Iran in from the cold.

6.  Finally, as relations warm, suggest opening an American consular office for visas and other technical matters in Tehran.

Once this memo is leaked — and it may be before reaching its intended recipient — it should be defended robustly as an effort to nudge Iran towards full and conforming membership in the world community.

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