Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better. Now may be the time to avoid war in the Middle East and call for a new era of “respect for each other’s ways of life.”
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and President Biden could follow the example of Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and President John F. Kennedy, who stepped back from the brink of nuclear catastrophe and implemented hotlines, a nuclear testing ban and expanded trade in 1962 and 1963. The momentum toward detente between the Soviet Union and the United States collapsed in the late 1960s but was reinvigorated in the 1970s and late 1980s.
Kennedy sent a clear signal at American University. address On June 10, 1963, the United States announced its desire for better relations with the Soviet Union. Khrushchev responded in kind. Once the ground was laid, diplomats were able to finesse the details.
The major Middle Eastern powers have grievances arising from each other’s actions. Americans remember the Iranians’ imprisonment of American diplomats from November 1979 to January 1981. Iranians remember the CIA’s help in overthrowing the Iranian government in 1953 and the USS Vincennes’ recapture of Iranian territory. shoot down In 1988, an Iranian passenger plane crashed in Iranian airspace, killing all 290 people on board. In 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the nuclear deal that had promised a new era for Iran and the world. In exchange for sanctions relief, Washington stepped up pressure.
Iran has joined the axis of totalitarianism that stretches from Moscow to Beijing to Pyongyang. Despite occasional signs to the contrary, Iranian theocracy continues to suppress the rights of its citizens, especially women. The United States complains that Iran supports Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi rebels, and is now providing drones and rockets for Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine. In April, Iran fired about 300 rockets at Israel, but only a few reached the target. Iran, a long-time tormentor of Israel, now vows to take revenge for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at a guesthouse in Tehran. In response, the United States is sending more ships and fighter jets to defend Israel.
The whole situation appears to be a labyrinth of zero-sum conflicts that cannot be resolved without undermining the fundamental interests of one of the parties. With so many parties involved, the problem is far more complex than the essentially bipartisan conflict that Khrushchev and Kennedy faced.
Still, if Washington and Tehran could reach an agreement in principle, as Soviet and U.S. leaders did during and after the Cuban Missile Crisis, they could negotiate the details of any conflict and curb aggressive policies by their partners.
Iran now, as it has for the past decade, needs relief from sanctions that stifle living standards and economic development. The Iranian regime and people should ask themselves whether supporting rebels in neighboring countries and President Putin’s military serves their interests more than opening up trade and other exchanges with the West.
In late July, Russia Considered It supplied weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels in retaliation for the Biden administration allowing Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied arms on Russian territory. Under pressure from Saudi Arabia and Washington, Moscow canceled the shipment.
Washington should not allow the personal agenda of one Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to thwart reasonable peace talks for the entire region. Israel needs to agree to a realistic two-state solution that allows it to coexist peacefully with the Palestinians and its neighbors, including Iran and Saudi Arabia. Ignoring the condemnation of President Biden and many of our allies, the Israeli Prime Minister appears to want a broader war.
Facilitating a comprehensive resolution of the Middle East conflict will require a strong and enlightened self-interest on the part of many peoples and leaders. This seems like an unattainable dream. But what if the alternative is death and destruction as we have seen in Syria, Yemen and Gaza? Is there a way for the “People of the Book” – Jews, Christians and Muslims – to recognize their common humanity and act in a way that avoids harming themselves and each other?
The recent prisoner exchange between Russia and the West required compromises by many governments. The deal was not perfect, but it showed that parties with overlapping and opposing interests can sometimes compromise their differences for each other’s benefit. It’s not easy, but it’s sometimes doable.
Walter Clemens is Associate Professor at the Harvard Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Boston University. ““Dynamics of International Relations: Conflict and Mutual Interest in an Era of Global Interdependence”
