Iran’s Next President and The Third Nuclear Strategy
US President Barack Obama and Iran’s next president should expand the nuclear talks to include regional security matters, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
The Iranian presidential election is set for June 14, and the candidate selected will take office in August. The world is eager to know the new president’s nuclear policy.
The ongoing Iranian nuclear issue dates back to early 2003, when Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), visited the nuclear facilities at Natanz and officially announced that Iran was among 10 nations that had attained enrichment technology and capability. After that, during the tenures of Presidents Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran and the world embarked on two approaches to nuclear diplomacy with varying costs and benefits.
During Khatami’s presidency, Iran's diplomacy was called nuclear engagement and based on two conditions the government set for itself: maintaining Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear technology, including enrichment, and ensuring that the nuclear file not be referred to the UN Security Council.
After ElBaradei’s assessment of Iran’s nuclear program, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution in September 2003 demanding the suspension of its enrichment activities and access to facilities beyond the scope of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), setting a 50-day deadline for Iran to comply. At the time, there was considerable ambiguity within the international community regarding the nature of the Iranian program. The United States, challenged by the Islamic republic’s resolve since 1979, found the nuclear issue a golden opportunity for putting the Iran file before the Security Council. By doing so, it could label Iran a threat to international peace and security, pave the way for international sanctions and isolation and possible military attack.
