Iranian and Western Interests |
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Post-9/11 events in the Middle East have strengthened Iran’s geopolitical and strategic role. The containment of Iran is an unrealistic solution, given that coercive isolation has only fostered a more radical and security-dominant domestic Iranian brand of politics. Iran is not Ahmadinejad, and Iranian goals and aspirations cannot be confined to the nuclear file—as important as it might be. In a new policy analysis brief for the Stanley Foundation, Italian professor and Middle East expert Riccardo Redaelli argues for selective engagement, putting the nuclear file within a larger, regional geopolitical context. The United States and Iran have more pragmatic interests and converging strategic needs than are generally perceived: avoiding Iraqi and Afghan fragmentation, coordinating antidrug smuggling, and working on new, more sustainable security arrangements in the Gulf area to name a few. Redaelli argues it is in a time of rhetorical and ideological posturing that diplomacy and negotiations are most useful. By getting out of the "capitulate or escalate" framework, the United States could entertain a realistic agenda, including a detailed, reciprocal, step-by-step timing. You can read the full policy brief here. |
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