Realistic Expectations for Iran’s New President

اضيف الخبر في يوم الأربعاء ١٩ - يونيو - ٢٠١٣ ١٢:٠٠ صباحاً.


Realistic Expectations for Iran’s New President

 

 

 

Realistic Expectations for Iran’s New President
Karim Sadjadpour

WASHINGTON—The West should temper expectations for Iran’s president-elect, Hassan Rowhani, argues Karim Sadjadpour. In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he explains why Rowhani is less a reformer than a pragmatic regime insider and outlines steps Washington can take to pursue nuclear détente and encourage a truly representative government in Tehran.
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Policy Recommendations
  • Pursue dialogue: Washington should make another sincere attempt to launch a process of dialogue and confidence building with Tehran. By engaging the new president, Washington will either find a willing partner or further highlight Iranian intransigence.
  • Inhibit Tehran’s stranglehold on media and communication: The United States should think more creatively—beyond just economic sanctions—about how to facilitate political change in Iran. A vital first step is to inhibit the Iranian government’s ability to control news, information, and communication.
  • Overhaul Voice of America Persian: The woefully underperforming Persian News Network should be taken outside the confines of Voice of America and transformed into a public-private partnership, like the BBC. Supported by the U.S. government while being managed and staffed by experienced media professionals, the network can much more effectively inform millions of Iranian viewers.
Sadjadpour concludes, “Iran is one of the few countries in the Middle East where America’s strategic interests and its commitment to democratic values align, rather than clash. . . . For less than the cost of one F-15 fighter jet, the United States can play a significant role in helping to inform the thinking of tens of millions of people in Iran who are desperate for their country to genuinely reform and emerge from international isolation.”
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About the Author
Karim Sadjadpour is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment. A leading researcher on Iran, he has conducted dozens of interviews with senior Iranian officials and hundreds with Iranian intellectuals, clerics, dissidents, paramilitaries, businessmen, students, activists, and youth, among others.
 
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Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
 
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