Throughout Obama’s presidential campaign and for much of his first year in office, he emphasized the need for diplomatic efforts in America’s relations with Iran. In his inaugural address, Obama promised to “extend a hand” to Iran, an offer that was quickly rebuffed.[1] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, maintains that Iran’s nuclear program is for energy purposes only, but political leaders have grown increasingly wary of Tehran. On March 23, Senator Charles Schumer called for harsh sanctions against Iran, stating, “The U.S. must hit Iran first, on our own, with unilateral sanctions, no matter what the other nations of the world do…we cannot afford to wait for Russia or China.”[2] The Obama administration, however, has attempted to gain international support for sanctions against Iran. Obama has placed a particular emphasis on Russia and China, two of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
On March 24, China agreed to “engage in substantive talks on a U.S.-backed initiative to sanction Iran for defying U.N. demands to halt its enrichment of uranium.”[3] Talks with China will likely last several weeks before any sanctions are finalized, but China’s involvement is a positive step toward sanctions of Iran. The Chinese government had previously refused to join negotiations, and they have not made any firm commitments at this stage. China’s U.N. ambassador, Li Baodong, stressed that while the spread of nuclear weapons is undesirable, “Appropriate solutions should be found through peace talks and negotiations.”[4] Bringing China to the table for talks about Iran is a foreign policy victory for Obama, but the United States should be careful not to squander this opportunity. Pressure from China would add significant leverage to any sanctions levied against Iran.
Although the United States has proposed “a dual-track policy with Iran, offering incentives to Tehran for allowing greater outside scrutiny of its nuclear program while threatening economic sanctions if it fails to halt its enrichment activities,” Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Russia, has spoken out against broad economic sanctions.[5] Instead, the Russian government will only support sanctions that target Iran’s nuclear program. While Medvedev has taken a harder stance than China, there is reason to be optimistic. On April 8, America and Russia are expected to sign a treaty that will reduce the number of strategic nuclear warheads owned by each country.[6] This agreement may signal a thawing of relations between the two former Cold War competitors. With America and Russia reducing their nuclear capabilities, the two countries may work together to help stem nuclear proliferation.
Despite growing international pressure aimed at Iran, Ahmadinejad has remained defiant. Speaking on television on March 25, Ahmadinejad stated, “They want to stop, even for an hour, the fast speeding train of Iranian progress.”[7] It is unclear if sanctions will convince the Iranian government to abandon their pursuit of nuclear energy (and possibly weapons), but the United States seems determined to enact crippling measures if there is enough support for such sanctions. Russia and China, meanwhile, have encouraged Iran to accept a deal in which Iran “would export a sizable quantity of low-enriched uranium…and that material would be turned into fuel in Russia and France and returned to Iran for a small Tehran research reactor for medical isotopes.”[8] Iran modified that proposal to the extent that it was no longer acceptable to American diplomats. The situation with Iran remains complex and , but multiple actors within the international community are engaging this issue in a constructive manner.
[1] Phillips, Macon. "President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address." 21 January 2009. The White House. 26 March 2010
[2] Rogin, Josh. "Senators pressure Obama on Iran sanctions." 23 March 2010. ForeignPolicy.com. 26 March 2010
[3] Lynch, Colum. "China joins Iran sanctions talks." 24 March 2010. ForeignPolicy.com. 25 March 2010
[6] Burns, Robert and Lynn Berry. "U.S., Russia reach deal to cut arsenals." The Miami Herald 25 March 2010: 3A.
[7] Peterson, Scott. "Iran nuclear sanctions: Ahmadinejad says they won't bite." 25 March 2010. The Christian Science Monitor. 26 March 2010
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