Selection of Physicians and American Politics
The selection of physicians and American politics, after a 40% participation in the first round, managed to attract some of the voters who had stayed at home in the first round to the ballot box and increase the participation rate to 50%.
The importance of reading the Iranian presidential elections by foreign observers stems from the fact that the most powerful individual in Iran is not the president but the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
This is true, but it does not mean that the election of the president is insignificant.
The President of Iran is considered a center of power and has influence in adopting a wide range of policies.
The ideological approaches of previous presidents, from reformists to hardliners, have always been evident in Tehran’s foreign policy.
The most important product of interaction between Iran and the West in recent years, namely the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was largely the result of the work of the former moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, and his Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.
However, the power institution also accompanied Rouhani and Zarif on this path, and the power institution also benefits from the improvement of Iran’s economy as a result of the lifting of sanctions.
Now, for any kind of interaction and cooperation, the ball is in the court of the West, especially the United States.
American policymakers should draw on one of the clearest track records of success and failure that can be at the disposal of foreign policy makers in deciding how to deal with this ball.
During the three years that the JCPOA was being implemented from 2015 to 2018, this agreement managed to achieve all its non-proliferation goals and close all possible paths for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
In fact, Iran came under strict restrictions regarding its nuclear program.
On the other hand, since Donald Trump, the former US president, withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018, the alternative option of the US government, namely the maximum pressure policy against Iran, has failed in all aspects.
Tehran, freed from the constraints of the JCPOA, accelerated its nuclear program and has reached a point where it can now produce the necessary fuel for a nuclear weapon in just a few days or weeks.
The most important political obstacle that should surpass for any serious new interaction with Iran is the lack of trust formed in the past four decades, the influence of Israel, and the repetitive statement that Iran is the main destabilizing factor in the Middle East and only deserves isolation and punishment.
A careful consideration of politics in Iran and the reasons that led this country towards the path of radical choices, especially the desires and inclinations of Iranian citizens for improving the economic situation and their emphasis on lifting sanctions to help overcome these obstacles will be essential.
The nuclear issue, especially considering the situation that Iran’s nuclear program has found itself in after Trump’s wrongful withdrawal from the JCPOA, is clearly the first and most important priority for resuming interactions.
However, other issues related to conflicts and instability in the region should also be taken into account.
As long as Israel continues its attacks on Gaza, this issue will remain challenging.
But negotiations between Iran and the United States, along with recent efforts by Gulf states to reduce tensions among themselves, will be concurrent.
Not destabilizing this region is another reason that prompts the United States to consider accepting a security agreement with Saudi Arabia, which will be interpreted by many, if not all Iranians, as part of the anti-Iranian military alliance.
Any new interaction between the United States and Iran from the Iranian side will not suffer from the long learning curve that the Rouhani administration displayed after coming to power in 2021.
Apparently, the main architect of the government’s foreign policy is Zarif, who had extensive interactions with American counterparts during his term as Minister and during the JCPOA negotiations.
