Iran, US signal will to engage as new president sworn in

Sunday 04th, August 2013 / 22:59 Written by Oman Observer 

in International

DUBAI — Iran and the United States signalled a fresh will yesterday 

to seek to end the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme after 

Hassan Rouhani was sworn in as president and called for dialogue 

to reduce “antagonism and aggression”.

Hopes for a diplomatic resolution increased with Rouhani’s win over 

conservative rivals in June, when voters replaced Mahmoud 

Ahmadinejad with a man whose watchword is “moderation” 

but who is still very much an Islamic Republic insider.
“The only way for interaction with Iran is dialogue on an equal 

footing, confidence-building and mutual respect as well as 

reducing antagonism and aggression,” Rouhani told parliament 

after taking his oath of office.
“If you want the right response, don’t speak with Iran in the 

language of sanctions, speak in the language of respect,” he said.
Within hours, the United States said it was ready to work 

with Rouhani’s government if it were serious about engagement.

“The inauguration of President Rouhani presents an opportunity 

for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community’s 

deep concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme,” White House 

spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.
“Should this new government choose to engage substantively 

and seriously to meet its international obligations and find a 

peaceful solution to this issue, it will find a willing partner in 

the United States.”
Iran’s critics say it has used previous nuclear negotiations as 

a delaying tactic while continuing to develop nuclear 

weapons-related technology — something Tehran denies.
Signalling both his wish to get straight down to work and a 

likely willingness to engage with the United States, Rouhani 

immediately presented a list of cabinet nominees to the 

parliament speaker that included Iran’s former ambassador 

to the United Nations, Mohammad Javad Zarif, as foreign minister.
Parliament must approve the proposed ministers before they 

can take office and the speaker said the assembly would 

review the nominees in the next week.
Zarif is a respected diplomat involved in negotiations with 

the United States since the 1980s and well known to top US 

officials including Vice-President Joe Biden and Defence 

Secretary Chuck Hagel.
Western envoys familiar with Zarif have said his appointment 

may be a sign of Rouhani’s interest in breaking the deadlock 

with the United States.
Ali Vaez, Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, said 

Zarif had unique skills that “allow him to bridge the great gulf 

of misperceptions between Iran and the West.”
“No one else is better suited to take on the grim but grand 

task of ending Iran’s isolation at this time of national peril,” 

he said.
Any new overtures to the West would have to be approved by 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has maintained a staunchly 

anti-Western stance since becoming Iran’s supreme leader 

in 1989.
After eight years of Ahmadinejad’s confrontational government, 

under which the West tightened sanctions making daily life 

tougher for normal Iranians, Khamenei is likely to give 

Rouhani a chance to resolve the issue, but has publicly 

expressed more scepticism of the chances of a solution.
Though less hard line than his predecessor, Rouhani has 

held important military and security posts since the Islamic 

revolution of 1979. He was head of the Supreme National 

Security Council for 16 years and one of two personal 

representatives of Khamenei on the same body for another 

eight years.
Rouhani did not name a candidate to head the Supreme 

National Security Council. The person occupying that position

 is usually also Iran’s chief negotiator in its talks with 

world powers over its nuclear programme.
Iranian news agencies last month said Rouhani would nominate 

Mohammad Forouzandeh, a former Revolutionary Guard, 

defence minister and member of Iran’s Security Council, 

for the post. — Reuters