August 23, 2013

As the conflict in Syria escalates, the peace talks between Israel and Palestine move forward and Egypt’s internal crisis continues to be unsettled, our nation’s foreign policy conversation has been silent on Iran. As Iranians transition into a new administration with President Hassan Rouhani, the U.S. must also shift diplomatic tactics toward Iran.

Rouhani, a former nuclear negotiator who worked as a diplomat for three decades is showing signs he is willing to engage the U.S. based on respect. In his inauguration speech regarding ending the use of U.S. sanctions, Rouhani said to his parliament, “If you want an adequate response, you shouldn’t speak the language of sanctions, you should speak the language of respect.”

While sanctions against Iran have historically been used as a method to deter them from continuing with their nuclear program, all the sanctions have done are cripple human rights and civil society efforts to bolster average Iranians.

Iranians under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “were squeezed between a repressive government on one side and crippling sanctions on the other.” Sanctions have caused serious repercussions on the Iranian people ranging from sporadic Internet usage to a suffocating economic system. Furthermore, Congress recently easily passed a set of new sanctions cutting Iran’s oil exports by another 1 million barrels/day, stifling Iranian society. While President Barack Obama has stated that all options are on the table when it comes to dealing with Iran, it seems that the go-to solution seems to be sanctions. These punitive measures are hurting the Iranian people much like sanctions against Iraq in the 1990s hurt the Iraqi people.

Alternatively, by empowering the Iranian people, the US government will have more negotiating leverage on issues such as nuclear proliferation and Iranian support for the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Meanwhile, Iran continues to deny claims that their nuclear program is meant for weapons capability and the vicious cycle of sanctions continues. Iran’s inflation rate is at 45 percent as the economy continues to decline, their foreign currency holdings are declining by about $15 billion USD annually and about half the population lives below the poverty line. Iran is not an existential threat to America.

It’s time our nation exercises global leadership and move away from excessive politicking and toward an informed discussion on dealing with Iran. Our elected leaders continue to talk about all options being on the table, yet sanctions continue to be harshly dealt to the detriment of a society. In the past as an alternative to war, the Muslim Public Affairs Council opted for sanctions against Iran; however, with the reality of the implementation of sanctions hurting the people more than regime, alternative options including building bridges of hope with the American people need to be realized.

Now is the time to engage the Iranians; without a serious discussion our officials are setting our nation up for another overseas folly on the same level of disaster as Iraq.