Negotiating With Iran - Fifteen Points to Remember

childhoodI've decided to re-integrate my political and Iran-related postings into TechnoSocial. It's hard enough managing one blog, two was too much. They'll be categorized as "Politics", "International" and/or "Iran" as appropriate. Read or ignore as you wish.

This is a good article with a brief history of Iran/U.S. relationships, and how they color (and hurt) our interactions today. I recommend reading the rest of it.


US and Iran: A history of violence Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairsBy Khody Akhavi - By his own admission, US ambassador John W Limbert's ordeal as a captive during the Iranian hostage crisis began with a monumental failure of negotiation. "In 1979, somebody thought it would be a good idea to the let the Shah [of Iran] into the US for medical treatment, despite - I must say - the very eloquent and well-stated advice of our charge d'affairs at the time, Bruce Langein, who told Washington in no uncertain terms what he thought about the idea," said Limbert, during a talk at the government-funded think-tank the United States Institute of Peace. He is now charge d'affairs of the American Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan.

Soon after, the then 36-year-old political officer found himself in front of the sealed door of the US Embassy in Tehran, talking with a group of "unhappy young Iranians" who had forced their way into the compound, insisting they only wanted to have a sit-in.

"My job was negotiate them out," he said.

Limbert and 51 other US diplomats were held captive for 444 days until their release on January 20, 1981. Since the embassy siege, Iran and the US have remained in a state of "no war, no peace". Enmity and mistrust run deep, with each side accusing the other of past misdeeds. An oft-told Washington joke goes something like this:

Iranian: "Will you guys get over 1979?"
American: "Sure, only if you get over 1953."
Iranian: "Never."

In 1953, the Central Intelligence Agency backed a coup d'etat to oust democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadeq and return the Shah to the Peacock Throne.

Limbert discussed his experience of negotiations with Iran and his recommendations, in a newly-published report entitled "Negotiating with the Islamic Republic of Iran: Raising the Chances of Success - Fifteen Points to Remember".

He underscored three important points:
Check the sermonizing at the door, and separate the view of the person from the problem. The past matters, so be aware of Iran's history. Give your counterparts credit for intelligence.

The report summary can be found here (United States Institute of Peace). The PDF of the report is here.

Photo Credit - souroshbagherzadein the "Iran Project" pool on Flickr.

Categories: Administrivia , International , Iran , Politics , Social
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By Kee Hinckley on February 12, 2008 11:30 AM | | Comments (0)

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This page contains a single entry by Kee Hinckley published on February 12, 2008 11:30 AM.

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