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Iran Should Reconcile with America

(New York Times) Brian H. Hook - These days, Iran's ruling theocracy is best known for oppression, corruption and mismanagement at home, and ghastly sectarian warfare abroad. On Monday, in an effort to further raise the pressures on Iran's regime from outside, we designated its Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist organization. Within Iran's own borders, the '79 revolution is largely a spent force. Mosque attendance has collapsed. The country's brain drain and capital flight is constant. Iran has a vibrant society that wants to be integrated with, not isolated from, other nations. Before the revolution, America was Iran's second-largest trading partner. It should be again. With open relations between the U.S. and Iran, together we could reduce Tehran's severe air pollution, build homes that withstand earthquakes in Kermanshah, deliver new medical treatments to veterans of the Iran-Iraq war, and restore water to Lake Urmia and the Zayandeh River. But in order to make this possible, the regime must first decide that it wants to be a normal country and not a revolutionary cause. It is time for nations to restore basic demands on Iran to behave like a normal, peaceful nation: end the pursuit of nuclear weapons, stop testing ballistic missiles, stop sponsoring terrorist proxies and halt the arbitrary detention of dual citizens. If nations choose not to hold this regime to the same standard as all other nations, we must expect more of the same violence abroad and oppression at home. The writer is the U.S. Special Representative for Iran and a senior advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
2019-04-09 00:00:00
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