More and more people are seeing what should’ve been plainly obvious to everyone by now: sanctions on Iran have failed to bring a solution to the situation and a very different route is needed.
An article on the CSM’s site today shows the growing call from various groups studying the situation to change tactics and present more lucrative packages to Iran in exchange for more transparency in their nuclear program. In other words, it’s time to start offering to get rid of sanctions on Iran so they will be more open with their facilities.
Time for the U.S. to make a real offer to this man despite what we have been led to believe.
One of the biggest problems pointed out in the article is that sanctions are what the U.S. ‘knows’ in terms of dealing with countries deemed adversaries and calling for more benevolent policies are politically difficult. No one wants to be the politician saying we need to offer real relief to Iran because opponents will use that against them even though it would likely bring about a successful end to the situation.
And Iran’s leadership can’t cave in to sanctions either or they look weak to their people. As pointed out in the piece:
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated in February that pressure and sanctions are akin to the US “pointing a gun at Iran and say[ing] either negotiate or we will shoot.” In March, Khamenei said, “if the Americans sincerely want” to resolve the nuclear issue “they should stop being hostile towards the Iranian nation in words and in action.”
So, we have reached this point where two bulls are running at each other and one has to give. And considering what has transpired, it would seem the U.S. is the one that has to bend.
Iran’s leader has called for a fatwa against making nuclear weapons. The U.S. has admitted it has no intelligence suggesting Iran is pursuing nuclear technology for weapons purposes. Iran also reduced its stockpile of material that could be converted into weapons recently showing it is moving in the direction apparently wanted by the rest of the world.
Iran has seemingly done what it needs to do in terms of showing the world it is ready for the sanctions to be lifted. Now is the time for the United States to do what more people are recognizing is the solution: offer real relief on the sanctions and treat Iran as their actions have shown they should be treated.
Even some from the usually hawkish right see this as the solution. From the piece:
“I think the answer is probably pretty simple. We’re going to have to sweeten the offer on sanctions relief,” former US assistant secretary of state under the George W. Bush administration and veteran troubleshooter James Dobbins said at the report launch. Sanctions should be suspended, not dropped, he said, until Iran also demonstrates it can hold to its side of any bargain.
The time for change has come. The question now is: has the will for change made its way to the top levels of the U.S. government yet?