Interview with Ham Mihan Newspaper November 13, 2024 -
The interview was in Persian and the translation below was done by Ai.
Sasan Karimi, a professor at the University of Tehran, told a Ham Mihan reporter about the issue of "confrontation" intended by the president: "Just as interaction does not necessarily mean cooperation, confrontation does not mean confrontation. In any case, we must face this issue. Naturally, the best and least damaging way to exchange votes between the two sides is direct negotiations. Sometimes, for various political and non-political reasons, the conditions are not favorable and the country prefers direct negotiations. This current US government is also an emergency government and will end in the next two months, so negotiating with them does not make much sense. What can happen now is to think about Mr. Trump’s administration and how we should adjust ourselves to the new conditions of the United States and be able to shape the foreign policy of the second Trump administration on Iran and the Middle East.”
He emphasized: “The reality is that the existence of mediators and intermediaries, in many cases, creates misunderstandings and additional costs, and sometimes creates the risk of compromise. At the same time, the decision is with the highest levels of the system. The decision is whether or not to have contact, and if we are going to move towards some kind of bargaining on some issues, in what form and format. None of these are taboo either. There are different ways to solve the problem. It has been tried and allowed in different periods. During the term of Foreign Minister Dr. Zarif, direct negotiations took place in the format of 5+1 and exclusively on the nuclear issue, and it had its blessings.”
Karimi continued: "During the era of martyr Amir Abdollahian, this permission was explicitly given by the leadership over the loudspeaker, and the Supreme Leader said that direct negotiations could be held and that there was no problem, but the team did not see it as advisable or did not see it within their means to do so. But it was allowed. It is possible that in some cases, this permission may be issued or withdrawn, depending on the other party sitting in Washington and the conditions in the region, etc. I do not yet know what the country's strategy or tactics are on this issue. But the focus of Mr. Pezhikian's speech is that the best way to deal with any issue is to take active action and play our own role, given the country's high capabilities in areas related to national security and foreign policy."
Hammihan Link
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