Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick
By Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick
Next week’s UN General Assembly meetings will offer US President Barack Obama a chance to extend a hand, both literally and figuratively, to new Iranian President Hassan Rowhani.
The White House said on Thursday a meeting was possible, the first between US and Iranian presidents since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“It’s possible, but it has always been possible,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “The extended hand has been there from the moment the president was sworn in.”
It looks more likely to be a handshake and brief exchange of pleasantries — probably in the UN building — rather than a formal meeting where the leaders could talk at greater length
With conciliatory overtures and gestures emanating from Iran’s ruling echelon at a surprising pace in recent days, the White House is looking for the right balance in forming a response.
Obama eventually wants to encourage Iran to make concessions in talks over its nuclear programme. But if he embraces Tehran too warmly before it takes concrete actions, he would risk criticism that he is fumbling another foreign policy issue after struggling to handle crises over Syria and Egypt.
SIGNS OF WARMING
Iran’s rhetoric has softened markedly since Rowhani took office in August. Recent gestures include a promise never to develop nuclear weapons, tweeted greetings on the Jewish New Year and the release of prominent political prisoner and rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.
On Thursday, Rowhani published an opinion piece in the Washington Post urging other leaders “to respond genuinely to my government’s efforts to engage in constructive dialogue.”
For its part, the White House said this week Obama had written Rowhani to convey the message “that the US is ready to resolve the nuclear issue in a way that allows Iran to demonstrate that its nuclear programme is for exclusively peaceful purposes.”
Speeches by Obama and Rowhani, who address the United Nations next Tuesday, will attract scrutiny for signs of a thaw. Another closely watched address will be that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who views a potential Iranian bomb as an existential threat to Israel and is wary of Iran’s new tone. Rowhani may extend what many analysts regard as a charm offensive by distancing himself from remarks by his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was widely vilified in the West for doubting the Holocaust and questioning Israel’s right to exist.
Obama’s speech must strike a balance, analysts said, between showing a readiness to engage Iran — a message he conveyed in his first week as president in 2009 by saying he would extend a hand if they would “unclench their fist” — and stressing that talks could not be endless and Iran must curb its nuclear programme.
In so doing, Obama needs to keep the door open to talks while protecting himself from attacks from conservatives who may regard his willingness to talk as weakness, particularly after his recent decision not to bomb Syria.
LOWER-LEVEL CONTACTS
While there has been speculation of talks between the two presidents or between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif during the UN meetings, current and former US officials said lower-level contact might make more sense.
“That’s often the way they start because you’re not really sure what you’re dealing with,” said a third US official. “You can survive a lower-level meeting that doesn’t work, but you can’t survive a higher-level that doesn’t work.”
The United States has several potential candidates to lead the talks, including Wendy Sherman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, who currently leads US nuclear negotiations with Iran, and Bill Burns, deputy secretary of state, who is a past negotiator with Iran and a Middle East expert. REUTERS
By Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick
Next week’s UN General Assembly meetings will offer US President Barack Obama a chance to extend a hand, both literally and figuratively, to new Iranian President Hassan Rowhani.
The White House said on Thursday a meeting was possible, the first between US and Iranian presidents since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“It’s possible, but it has always been possible,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “The extended hand has been there from the moment the president was sworn in.”
It looks more likely to be a handshake and brief exchange of pleasantries — probably in the UN building — rather than a formal meeting where the leaders could talk at greater length
With conciliatory overtures and gestures emanating from Iran’s ruling echelon at a surprising pace in recent days, the White House is looking for the right balance in forming a response.
Obama eventually wants to encourage Iran to make concessions in talks over its nuclear programme. But if he embraces Tehran too warmly before it takes concrete actions, he would risk criticism that he is fumbling another foreign policy issue after struggling to handle crises over Syria and Egypt.
SIGNS OF WARMING
Iran’s rhetoric has softened markedly since Rowhani took office in August. Recent gestures include a promise never to develop nuclear weapons, tweeted greetings on the Jewish New Year and the release of prominent political prisoner and rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.
On Thursday, Rowhani published an opinion piece in the Washington Post urging other leaders “to respond genuinely to my government’s efforts to engage in constructive dialogue.”
For its part, the White House said this week Obama had written Rowhani to convey the message “that the US is ready to resolve the nuclear issue in a way that allows Iran to demonstrate that its nuclear programme is for exclusively peaceful purposes.”
Speeches by Obama and Rowhani, who address the United Nations next Tuesday, will attract scrutiny for signs of a thaw. Another closely watched address will be that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who views a potential Iranian bomb as an existential threat to Israel and is wary of Iran’s new tone. Rowhani may extend what many analysts regard as a charm offensive by distancing himself from remarks by his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was widely vilified in the West for doubting the Holocaust and questioning Israel’s right to exist.
Obama’s speech must strike a balance, analysts said, between showing a readiness to engage Iran — a message he conveyed in his first week as president in 2009 by saying he would extend a hand if they would “unclench their fist” — and stressing that talks could not be endless and Iran must curb its nuclear programme.
In so doing, Obama needs to keep the door open to talks while protecting himself from attacks from conservatives who may regard his willingness to talk as weakness, particularly after his recent decision not to bomb Syria.
LOWER-LEVEL CONTACTS
While there has been speculation of talks between the two presidents or between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif during the UN meetings, current and former US officials said lower-level contact might make more sense.
“That’s often the way they start because you’re not really sure what you’re dealing with,” said a third US official. “You can survive a lower-level meeting that doesn’t work, but you can’t survive a higher-level that doesn’t work.”
The United States has several potential candidates to lead the talks, including Wendy Sherman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, who currently leads US nuclear negotiations with Iran, and Bill Burns, deputy secretary of state, who is a past negotiator with Iran and a Middle East expert. REUTERS
