For 15 years, Iranian presidents have been drawn to the U.N.’s global stage to mold their image and press their message.
Reformist Mohammad Khatami made his debut before the world body’s annual General Assembly in 1998, declaring himself a “man from the East” seeking dialogue with the West. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went in the other direction, jabbing at Washington and its allies, and leaving a trail of jaw-dropping comments such as telling a Columbia University forum in 2007 that Iran has no gays.
Now it’s Hasan Rouhani’s turn. The U.N. has slotted Iran’s new moderate-leaning president to address the global gathering Sept. 24 — just hours after U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to wrap up his speech.
The symmetry is fitting. Perhaps no trip to New York by an Iranian president has carried so many expectations and potential for important sideline diplomacy.
Obama and Rouhani have exchanged letters over the civil war in Syria, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Tehran’s leaders — unwavering backers of Bashar Assad’s regime — will have a key role under any proposed deal to strip Syria’s military of its chemical weapons arsenal and avoid U.S.-led military strikes.
Rouhani also has suggested he could use his time in the U.S. to reach out indirectly to the White House to restart nuclear talks, which have been on hold after a series of dead-end rounds.
“All the signals and talk about trying to reset Iran’s relations and policies with the West could be put to the test at the U.N.,” said Merhzad Boroujerdi, director of the Middle East Studies program at Syracuse University. “Everything Rouhani does and says will be very closely watched.”
He has expressed eagerness to get the nuclear negotiations back on track. This call is apparently echoed by Iran’s true decision-makers — the ruling clerics and their backers led by the Revolutionary Guard, who often use the president to carry their views.
So Rouhani’s appeals to restart the dialogue with the six-nation group — the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany — is certain to be cleared at the top.
Rouhani said Tuesday he expects meetings with U.S. envoys and others on a timetable and venue for the talks.
Iran says no progress can be made until the West rolls back economic sanctions.
The U.S. and allies want Iran to make major concessions on its uranium enrichment program, which the West fears could one day churn out weapons-grade material.
Iran says it only seeks reactors for energy and isotopes for medical therapy — and often cites a religious decree by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that describes nuclear weapons as against Islam.
Rouhani has given no clear signs on whether Iran could significantly shift its negotiation positions. In speeches, however, he has not veered from Iran’s demands to keep its uranium enrichment labs and its denunciations of sanctions as deal-killing pressures. Instead, he has offered only vague hints of seeking a new way forward.
“On the nuclear issue, the endgame should be a win-win,” Rouhani said on Iranian state TV. “A win-lose game is meaningless. We are ready for this game. This job will begin in New York.”
He warned, however, that he wants to return to Tehran with some progress to show.
“The world should know that that the time span for settling nuclear issues will not be unlimited,” Rouhani said. “The world should use the opportunity that the Iranian nation has provided through the election.”
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