Iran's Window for Nuclear Diplomacy Closing
The Iranian elite is already absorbed in pre-presidential election politicking and is in no hurry to resume nuclear talks as long as the offer on the table does not include significant sanctions relief, writes Mohammad Ali Shabani.
Although attention in the West remains focused on Iran’s nuclear program, talk among the Iranian elite has already turned toward Iranian presidential elections that could have a major impact on the current diplomatic impasse and the Islamic Republic’s relations with the United States.
On a just-concluded visit to Tehran, I talked to dozens of current and former officials, think-tank scholars and journalists. With more than five months to go until the polls, Iran is already abuzz with rumors about who is going to be the next president of the Islamic Republic — and the implications of that choice.
Make no mistake: The nuclear issue is intricately linked to the upcoming elections and their outcome. However, the fact that dialogue with the P5+1 (the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany) did not seem to be on the top of the agenda in Tehran suggests three things:
First, if the aim of sanctions is to get the Iranian leadership to do a sudden, 180-degree turn and make major concessions, they have fundamentally failed.
