Why Iran must cool its rhetoric

This month’s UN General Assembly in New York, taking place amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran, has the potential be an effective platform for the two countries to de-escalate those tensions. After all, it was during a UN General Assembly that US President Barack Obama made a historic call to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the highest level contact in almost 30 years. 

Rouhani and US President Donald Trump will both address the gathering this year. Will the American and Iranian authorities be ready to meet? How can there be substantive negotiations between the two? 

For this to happen, a peaceful and non-confrontational period is required beforehand and the Iranian regime must show the international community that it is willing to be a rational state actor rather than a revolutionary state. In other words, Tehran must take steps to address concerns about its ballistic and nuclear programs, its sponsorship of terrorist and militia groups across the region, and its role in maintaining the security of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Unfortunately, the regime appears to be going in the opposite direction. Its attacks on commercial shipping in the Gulf pose significant threats to global trade and the national security interests of the EU, and the US and its allies. 

Thanks to Iran’s aggressive policies and reliance on hard power, commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz now requires to be escorted by allied naval vessels. Combined with Iran’s continuous funding of violent and terrorist extremists, it is clear that the national security interests of US allies in the region have not improved. Far from encouraging the Europeans to fight its corner, Iran seems to be pushing them closer toward the Trump administration’s way of thinking. 

In addition, to make any progress at the UN, Iran needs to cool the heated rhetoric and relinquish its unrealistic demands. After Trump said last month there was “a really good chance” he would meet Rouhani soon, the Iranian president responded that no such meeting would take place until all US sanctions against Iran were lifted. 

The rejection is probably an attempt to appease Iran’s hardliners and avoid antagonizing them. From their perspective, it would be detrimental to Tehran to enter negotiations with the US while Washington enjoys the upper hand; Iran’s economy is in a dire state and Tehran has been under significant pressure geopolitically. 

In a show of defiance, Iran’s hardliners are vehemently rejecting any possibility of talks with the US, and have ratcheted up their heated rhetoric. The deputy chief of the army, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Dadras, warned last week that Iran could an use its “secret defense facilities and capabilities” to punish its enemies.

So at this point, the political and ideological gaps between the Trump administration and the Iranian regime are too wide to bridge. To defuse tensions and enable bilateral talks, Iran must first halt its belligerent and destabilizing behavior in the region.

• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist