Reframing Negotiations With Iran
To understand the deadlock in negotiations with Iran, the negotiating framework itself needs to be addressed, writes Mohammad Ali Shabani.
Despite the intense engagement between Iran and the P5+1 in Kazakhstan, we face continued deadlock. In the intermission until the next round of nuclear talks, it is useful to step away from the focus on how to reach an interim deal and look at the negotiating framework itself for challenges that need to be addressed.
Along this vein, it is fruitful for outside observers to gain an Iranian perspective on the utility of the P5+1 as a forum, the prospect of progress within this framework and how things can move from this setting to a bilateral discussion between Iran and the United States.
Before attempting to answer these questions, it should be noted that virtually all relevant Iranian stakeholders view the nuclear issue as being about Iran’s troubled relationship with America.
When it comes to views of the P5+1 in Tehran, the picture used to be cloudy, but now seems to have largely cleared.
