On June 17, President Barack Obama said that the United States is open to engaging with Iran through bilateral channels. But Tehran must recognize that sanctions will not be lifted absent “significant steps” show that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons, he stipulated. On Iran’s election, Obama acknowledged that President-elect Hassan Rouhani has indicated interest in better relations, but he also noted that the supreme leader is likely to make the ultimate decisions. The following is an excerpt from Obama’s PBS interview with Charlie Rose.
CHARLIE ROSE: Seventy-five percent of the people voted. The moderate won. What does this say and what are the opportunities there?
BARACK OBAMA: Well, I think it says that the Iranian people want to move in a different direction and, you know, if you contrast this with the violence and suppression that happened in the last presidential election, obviously you have a much more positive atmosphere this time.
The Iranian people rebuffed the hard liners and the clerics in the election who were counseling no compromise on anything, anytime, anywhere.
Clearly you have a hunger within Iran to engage with the international community in a more positive way. Now Mr. Rouhani, who won the election, I think indicated his interests in shifting how Iran approaches many of these international questions.
But I think we understand that under their system the Supreme Leader will be making a lot of decisions. And so we’re going to have to continue to see how this develops and how this evolves over the next several weeks, months, years. I do think that there’s a possibility that they decide -- the Iranians decide -- to take us up on our offer to engage in a more serious, substantive way.
And you know, our bottom lines have been show the international community that you’re abiding by international treaties and obligations, that you’re not developing a nuclear weapon. Based on that there are a whole range of measures that can be taken to try to normalize the relationship between Iran and the world but we don’t know yet if they’re going to be willing to take up that offer. They have not been during my entire first term when we
showed ourselves open to these discussions.
CHARLIE ROSE: You’re prepared to have someone in your administration talk to them immediately or does it have to be conditioned on other things as you’ve suggested?
BARACK OBAMA: No, I think that my general view is we are open to discussions both through the P5-plus-1 and through potential bilateral channels and we recognize that you’re not going to solve problems all up front as a precondition for talks but there has to be a serious recognition that the sanctions we put in place, for example, the most powerful sanctions, economic sanctions that have ever been applied against Iran, that those will not be lifted in the absence of significant steps in showing the international community that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon.
And as long as there’s an understanding about the basis of the conversation, then I think there’s no reason why we shouldn’t proceed.
Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls