The Iranian negotiating team and its P5+1 counterparts — United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, France and Germany — headed by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton concluded an interim agreement in Geneva on Nov. 24. This was achieved after several rounds of intense and inconclusive talks as well as concurrent bilateral contacts, and has sparked ferocious debates among pundits and policy experts around the world.

In both Washington and Tehran, divergent interpretations of the Geneva agreement and its future prospects have emerged, given the importance of garnering public and legislative support, which remains vital for both sides. Many have welcomed the deal as the triumph of diplomacy over a potential risk of slipping into an all-out conflict that could engulf the entire region with devastating consequences. This achievement is also described as the triumph of rationalism of those who have been concerned about the scourge of war that has been inflicted upon the Middle East in recent years.  

In the United States, the dominant paradigm of “coercive diplomacy” has become the core element of heated debates, following the argument that there's a correlation between tougher sanctions and the setbacks of the Iranian government in its desire to develop its growing peaceful nuclear industry. But, this broad generalization without due consideration of other aspects, including the historical behavior of Iran in its international relations, mainly since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, would hardly provide an extensive and correct understanding of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Indeed, looking back at several past examples of how Iran resolved major foreign policy issues by resorting to peaceful and legal means is instructive in understanding Iran’s negotiation behavior today, in direct continuity with the past. Also, such an inquiry supports the theory that Iran finds the strengthening of the rule of law in international relations to be in its national interest.

No need to go far back to the negotiations with the Soviet Union, which saved Iran’s occupied territories in the northwest in 1946, or the active involvement of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in the proceedings of the International Court of Justice in 1952 regarding the nationalization of Iran's oil industry. Just shortly after the establishment of the Islamic Republic and following breaking of bilateral diplomatic relations by the United States, Iran negotiated and concluded a deal with the United States known as the Algiers Accords in 1981, whereby the two sides set up the Iran-US Claims Tribunal in The Hague. The tribunal has been working ever since, has dealt with settling numerous claims, and buttressed a legacy of recourse to legal solutions to address disputes. Iran used the same tribunal in 1996 to complain about the US failure to abide by its obligation of non-interference in the internal affairs of Iran; the “A-30 case” is still pending before the tribunal.