Trump appears to be looking again for a “deal partner” in Tehran. This time in figures like Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
https://x.com/citrinowicz/status/2036210986902827502
The irony of history
When Trump decided to withdraw from the nuclear deal, there was an Iranian leader in power, Hassan Rouhani — who, in many ways, resembled the kind of counterpart Washington often hopes to find. He believed in engagement with the West, spoke directly with President Obama, and tried to push the Iranian system from within.
Rouhani wasn’t weak. After defeating Ebrahim Raisi in the 2017 election, he was politically strong enough that Khamenei viewed him as a potential threat.
Then came the U.S. withdrawal from the deal and the return of sanctions. Iran accelerated its nuclear program, and Rouhani became a convenient scapegoat, blamed for the country’s failures. Over time, the space for pragmatists inside Iran narrowed dramatically.
Fast forward to today: Trump appears to be looking again for a “deal partner” in Tehran. This time in figures like Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. But this reflects a similar misunderstanding.
Ghalibaf, even if seen as relatively pragmatic by Iran’s current standards, is deeply rooted in the Revolutionary Guard system that now dominates Iranian politics. He is not someone who will fundamentally change Iran, if anything, he represents the system as it is.
In effect, U.S. policy since 2018 from exiting the nuclear deal to the current conflict, has helped close the door on the rise of pragmatic actors in Iran.
Instead of getting a negotiable partner, Washington may now be facing a system that looks increasingly like a smaller version of North Korea: more rigid, more ideological, and far less open to compromise.
#iran
posted by Satish Sharma at
06:13
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home