Mohammad Javad Larijani, a topadviser to Irans Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seems like a reasonable fellow with respect to Irans nuclear stance in this March 12th interview with CNNs Christiane Amanpour.On the Wests issue with Iranian enrichment of uranium to 20%, Mr. Larijani says we simply need to go back to the era when Iran was able to buy the fuel it needs for its Tehran Research Reactor (TRR). The minute they sell it to us, the amount we need for the Tehran reactor, there is definitely no need to produce it, he said.
On the issue of Irans slow but steady advancement of is nuclear program, Mr. Larijani argues that Irans enrichment of uranium is an honest to God right thats also covered by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and we are a moving nation, we are going to capture higher levels of scientific achievement regardless of Western demands. Then the reasonable part kicks in full-swing: however, if concerns about Irans nuclear program are related to the issue of nuclear armament, Iran understands and shares that concern, claims Mr. Larijani, adding that Iran is willing to accept all mechanisms under the NPT to safeguard against such development.
And with respect to the possibility of bilateral talks between Iran and the US (which already occurred back inOctober 2009), Mr. Larijani is less direct. He doesnt confirm or reject the possibility, but does offer a recommendation that a new model be designed for relations between Iran and the United States which acknowledges that Iran does not want to be more than what we are and ends US hostility toward Iran.
Excluding Mr. Larijanis comments about the political battle between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Irans ruling elite, which Mr. Larijani describes as part of Irans democratic structure, all this raises the question of why Iran isnt perceived as reasonable during negotiations or cant be as reasonable as Mr. Larijani seems to be here with Amanpour on CNN, and why progress on the diplomatic front remains slow at best or simply nil. Deep mutual mistrust, acknowledged by the mostknowledgeable US-Iran analysts, is perhaps the main reason for the lack of substantial results, as are those peskydetailsthat need to be agreed upon by both sides before a deal can be reached.
Then theres that lingering issue of whether progress can even be hoped for before Irans 2013 Presidential election, and for that I turn to the experts. Ill have an interview that touches on that issue and the nuclear negotiations as a whole with Farideh Farhi up tomorrow.
By Lobelog
The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.
