INTERNATIONAL
VANDERBILT POLITICAL REVIEW
President Rouhani:
Rouhani’s election may not signal a dramatic improvement in
by EMILY STEWART ‘16
United States-Iran relations
D
espite its brevity, the phone call
that took place on September
27th between President Barack
Obama and President Hassan Rouhani of
Iran was a landmark event. The phone call
renewed direct contact between leaders
in the two nations, ending the three decades-long communication hiatus between
the two nations’ leadership sparked by
the Iranian Revolution. Now the pressing
question is whether or not President Rouhani’s declared moderate attitudes will
translate into reconciliation with the West.
While relations between the United States
and Iran have markedly improved merely
by reestablishment of contact, the presence of Rouhani in the Iranian presidency is unlikely to quell Iranian resistance
to the goals of American foreign policy.
Rouhani.ir
12
Certainly, the wave of praise for President Hassan Rouhani and his more liberal attitude toward the West have inspired
hope that U.S.-Iran relations will thaw.
Nonetheless, while “democratically”
elected, Rouhani has been vetted by a
deeply rooted ruling tradition in Iran: the
Guardian Council. The list of handpicked
candidates that appeared on the June ballot passed the inspection of the unelected
body run by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei. While Rouhani may publicly
voice a new course for Iran, the prevailing
leadership holding the real power remains
unchanged. In fact, according to Iranian
politician Ali Shakouri-Rad, “the very fact
he [Rouhani] is elected shows that he is
very much accepted by our establishment.”
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
has, on occasion, voiced support for bridging existing animosities between Iran and
the United States. The Ayatollah has also,
however, labeled the American government as “untrustworthy, arrogant and irrational,” and the deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said, “we never
trust America 100 percent.” Comments
by leaders in the Iranian government
call for caution in the assumption that a
moderate in the presidency will signal
radical change in Iranian foreign policy.
Ayatollah
Khamenei’s
harsh
comments provide evidence of a tradition
of conservatism and anti-American
sentiment in Iran, suggesting that drastic
foreign policy changes are not likely
simply due to the election of moderate
President Rouhani. The less extreme
tones of President Rouhani from those
of his predecessor, however, provide a
sense of optimism. Nonetheless, the U.S.
should not interpret diplomatic gestures as
Iranian acquiescence to American foreign
policy. The need to appease the existence
of hard-liners in the Iranian government
will prevent immediate gratification to
President Obama on, for example, the
nuclear issue. At face value, the silence
in direct relations is over. The mere
willingness of President Rouhani to speak
with President Obama is an improvement
in U.S.-Iranian relations. Until the hardliners are no longer a force to be reckoned
with and the issue of nuclear enrichment
has been settled, however, the Iranian
government is unlikely to put an end to
tensions with the West, even under the
leadership of moderate President Rouhani.