tehran: Iran may be ready to reach a nuclear deal with world powers to revive its economy, but is in no rush to go further by restoring relations with the United States, calculating this would imperil its domestic support.
According to one official, hardline loyalists of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have reached a compromise with supporters of the pragmatic president: Tehran should try to win relief from international sanctions by resolving the nuclear dispute, but not normalise ties with “the Great Satan”.
However, some allies of President Hassan Rouhani may not have given up on re-establishing relations with Washington, which were severed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Hostility to the United States has always been a rallying point for the clerical establishment, despite the decades of political isolation and sanctions-related economic hardship that estrangement has cost. Take this bogeyman away, and the ideological glue that holds together the faction-ridden leadership would weaken, analysts say.
“Hardliners understand that a nuclear deal will benefit the establishment, but they see normalisation of ties with America as a threat to their authority,” said a pro-reform former senior official.
Iran and six powers - the United States, Russia, France, Germany, China and Britain - are in talks on curbing Iran’s atomic activity in exchange for a gradual lifting of sanctions. They face a self-imposed Nov. 24 deadline to conclude a comprehensive deal, after missing an original July target.
The United States and some of its allies suspect Iran is using its nuclear programme as a cover to develop atomic bombs. Iran denies this, saying it is solely for civilian purposes. Iran’s policy-making establishment, composed of hardline Islamists, pragmatists and reformers, agrees at least on one issue - that a comprehensive nuclear deal will help Iran to grow richer and politically stronger through the easing and eventual lifting of the sanctions.
Reuters
