Iran's new president, Massoud Pezeshkian, visited the United States last week to show the world the moderate and rational face of the Iranian regime.
In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), he insisted that Iran does not want to be a source of instability in the Middle East and only wants peace. The president spoke of a “new era of cooperation” with the West and offered to participate in nuclear negotiations.
He met with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the UNGA.
His new government appears keen on improving relations with European countries. After meeting with Iran's foreign minister, Rafael Grossi, director general of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that Iran was willing to hold meaningful discussions about its nuclear program.
But is it all a sham or is Pezeshkian leading Iran on the path to peace?
Experts say Iran has sent Mr. Pezeshkian to present a moderate front on the world stage, but he has little power behind the scenes. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini is holding all the strings.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited the United States to show the world the moderate and rational face of the Iranian regime. (Reuters/Caitlin Ochs)
”[Pezeshkian] “He is a moderate by Iranian standards…and the fact that the supreme leader ran him and won him shows that they want a different relationship with the West.” Ambassador James Jeffrey, who led the diplomatic mission, said: The Bush, Obama and Trump administrations told FOX News Digital.
Iran's last president, Ebrahim Raisi, a member of the conservative Popular Front party, died in a helicopter crash on May 19. Pezeshkian, an independent, was elected in July.
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“We are in dire economic straits, even though we have not imposed sanctions on millions of barrels of oil exports a day. He wants to solve this problem by calming relations with the West. The problem is that he is not the true leader of Iran. ”
Pezeshikian's visit to the US comes after Iran hacked his campaign information and leaked it to the Democratic Party and the media, making it clear that former President Trump had been briefed on Iran's plan to kill Pezeshikian. It was held in the midst of
Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Iran had shipped ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine.
Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khameini (Iranian Leader Press Room/Materials/Anadolu, via Getty Images)
Iran has long sought to re-enter the nuclear deal after President Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, but it is now closer than ever to nuclear weapons. The country has enriched uranium to 60% (close to the 90% standard required for weapons), and reports say activity has resumed at two nuclear weapons test sites, Sanjarian and Ghorab Dareh. It has been suggested that.
“Iran can't really reverse some of the knowledge it has gained through advanced centrifuges and high levels of enrichment,” said Nicole Grajewski, an Iranian nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Ta.
Still, it is certain that Iran will try to lure the United States to lift sanctions and advance diplomatic negotiations.
“We have gone into the hook, line, and sinker of this logic…in the Obama administration and to some extent in the Trump administration. [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo took office in mid-2018. We allow them to eat lunch across the region, including Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. ”
“The new president will be tempted by Harris and Trump to try to make a deal with Iran. Nobody wants Iran to have nuclear weapons, and nobody wants to go to war,” said Jeffrey, who currently chairs the Middle East Program. Because I don't want to.'' at the Wilson Center.
Iran elected Pezeshkian, an independent, as president in July. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency, via Reuters)
“Pezeshkian may be able to accept the Iranian offer with a smile, just like he did in 2015, but it would be one-sided.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris harshly criticized President Trump for withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. President Biden called for a return to the nuclear deal, but failed to do so when he took office.
It is unclear how aggressively President Trump will pursue a deal with Tehran. Just one day apart, President Trump threatened to destroy Iran “to smithereens” and said he was open to negotiating a nuclear deal.
“As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know involved Iran,” President Trump said Wednesday at a campaign event in North Carolina. “They may or may not be involved, but there is a possibility that they are.”
“If I were president, I would notify the threatening country, in this case Iran, that if you do anything that would harm this person, I will blow your metropolis and the country itself into smithereens. “I guess,” he added.
But he told reporters in New York City on Thursday that talks were necessary because of Iran's nuclear threat.
Asked if he would strike a deal with Iran, the former president said: “Of course we would.” “We have to make a deal, because the outcome is impossible. We have to make a deal.”
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“Trump certainly scares the Iranians more because he's unpredictable, but one of the things about Trump being predictable is that he can't pass up an opportunity to negotiate a deal. “I think that's what he likes. It's kind of how he brands himself,” said Jonathan Ruhe, director of foreign policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security in America. said.
“The same thing happens all the time. We come and say, 'Iran, you better negotiate in good faith this time. We mean it.'” And then Iran drags out negotiations and nuclear weapons. It continues to expand its development program and basically buys time to move closer to nuclear development. ”
