Why a little-noticed chat between the US and Iran is a big deal
| Geneva
When Presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani had their historic phone call in late September, the news was met with amazement and a flood of news coverage. But when聽Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and top US negotiator Wendy Sherman held an hour-long meeting on the sidelines of nuclear talks in Geneva this week, it prompted barely a murmur.
The disparity between the reactions to each event indicate聽how quickly such headline-grabbing contact is turning relatively routine. When asked about the US-Iran meeting in Geneva, Iranian officials said it was 鈥渘o big deal,鈥� as if it were just another day at the office. The Americans, too, are fitting once-forbidden contact into their diplomatic聽agenda.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say I鈥檓 blas茅 about it, but I would say鈥t is no longer the Rubicon it once was, and that is a good thing,鈥澛� a senior US official said after the Geneva talks. The US-Iran meeting 鈥渨as professional鈥�.like I might have with many colleagues around the world. Now, that鈥檚 not to say that we aren鈥檛 both aware of the unusualness of the relationship鈥︹��
And聽rarely has there been a greater study in contrasts in Iran than now, as outbursts of familiar, fierce anti-American rhetoric 鈥� a staple since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution 鈥� are joined by the taboo-breaking surge of high-level US-Iran contact.
But Iran experts note that Tehran鈥檚 new diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear issue should not be conflated with overcoming聽the far more challenging historical and ideological differences that have kept the US and Iran arch enemies for a generation.
鈥淭he taboo of high-level US-Iranian contacts is no more, but this should not be equated with d茅tente or with rapprochement in bilateral relations,鈥� says Ali Vaez, the senior Iran analyst for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, who was in Geneva to monitor the negotiations.聽
鈥淭he nuclear issue remains the primary litmus test for the two sides to deescalate tensions,鈥� says Mr. Vaez. 鈥淭heir failure to do so聽would make this new warming of relations nothing but an Indian summer.鈥�
US is still 'Satan'
The breadth of the US-Iran chasm is sometimes still on display in Tehran, despite the surprise June election of Mr. Rouhani. Speaking about the US, the centrist cleric has said, 鈥淭his is a very old wound鈥� and we need to think about somehow healing this injury.鈥�
In New York late last month, Rouhani spoke of the 鈥済reat鈥� American nation. In an address to the United Nations, he said Iran 鈥渄oes not seek to increase tensions with the United States鈥� and both can 鈥渁rrive at a framework to manage our differences.鈥�
The US-Iran tete-a-tetes聽have sparked debate in Iran about dropping the "Death to America" chant. Yet differences between the two countries remain聽a battle cry for hard-liners, who sent a few dozen supporters to the airport to greet Rouhani as he returned from New York with a pelting of eggs and a shoe.
鈥淎merica is the great Satan,鈥澛燜riday聽prayer leader Ahmad Khatami declared from the Tehran pulpit last week.
鈥淒uring the last 35 years has this evil become less or more?鈥� asked Mr. Khatami. 鈥淚f yesterday in the arena of conspiracies against Iran, America was a snake, it is now a poisonous serpent. Any conspiracy that is directed against Iran stems from America.鈥�
Proving good intentions
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who makes all final decisions about state policy in Iran, has also frequently listed grievances聽against the US 鈥撀爁rom working with Israel to wage a covert war to undermine Iran鈥檚 nuclear program, to orchestrating a global network of sanctions that have crippled Iran鈥檚 economy. Last February, he ruled out direct US-Iran contact.
Yet Ayatollah Khamenei has now authorized 鈥渉eroic flexibility鈥� in the nuclear talks, code for making a deal that will permanently limit the scale of Iran鈥檚 nuclear program so it will never produce a bomb, but without compromising what Tehran calls its 鈥渞ight鈥� to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
鈥淎s far as the United States is concerned, we have an open mind,鈥澛燤r. Zarif聽said in a press conference yesterday at the conclusion of the Geneva talks. A senior US official had said Zarif鈥檚 package of proposals and聽his team's聽interaction with six world powers negotiating were the most 鈥渋ntense, detailed, straightforward [and] candid鈥� seen from Iran in more than one-and-a-half years of such nuclear talks.聽
鈥淲e are prepared to allow the United States to show its good intentions and goodwill,鈥� said Zarif, echoing long-standing US talking points about Iran. 鈥淥f course we need to witness good faith鈥o see the actions of the United States be commensurate with the words that have been uttered by the highest officials of the United States, that they want to deal with Iran based on mutual respect and mutual interest and equal footing, and in fact to move towards a resolution of this issue.鈥�
That would mean no more sanctions that would make a solution more difficult to obtain.
鈥淲e hope that, this time, everybody will pass the test of confidence building," Zarif said.聽
Treading carefully
While Khamenei signed off on 鈥渉eroic flexibility,鈥� however, he has also called some actions taken by the Rouhani team in New York聽 鈥渋nappropriate.鈥�
The politics of these changes are so sensitive in Iran that when the hard-line Kayhan newspaper 鈥撀爓hose editor is an official 鈥渞epresentative鈥� of Khamenei 鈥� misquoted Zarif telling lawmakers in a closed-door session that the Obama-Rouhani call was a mistake, it prompted a brief trip by Zarif to the hospital.聽聽
鈥淭his morning, after seeing the headline of one newspaper, I got severe back and leg pain. I couldn鈥檛 even walk or sit,鈥� Zarif posted on his Facebook page just over a week ago.
鈥淚t was a bitter but very informative day for me,鈥� wrote Zarif. 鈥淚 learned that whatever I want to say, to say it publicly, because otherwise the market for abuse is very active.鈥�
In Geneva yesterday, Zarif had to be pushed into the press conference in a wheelchair.
Yet even the health of Zarif 鈥撀爓ho was educated in San Francisco and Denver, has spent more than half his life in the US, and can banter easily in English with other diplomats 鈥撀燽ecame a source of common ground and mutual commiseration at the Geneva talks.
鈥淭here isn鈥檛 one among us who doesn鈥檛 have a back problem,鈥� said the senior US official. 鈥淪o everybody had a piece of a back story for [Zarif] 鈥� books they thought he should read, things he might try 鈥撀燽ecause we have all suffered.鈥�
Editor's note: This story has been edited to correctly reflect the Iranian official who met with US negotiator Wendy Sherman.聽
