Engaging Iran: Obstacles and Opportunities

On Wednesday, May 6, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing with Senator John Kerry presiding. The hearing addressed prevention of nuclear proliferation in Iran and challenges it posed to the global community.  Witnesses included District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney for New York County, Robert Morgenthau and Adam Kaufmann, as well as Former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns. The hearing focused on two points: first, Iran’s illegally funded operations for nuclear proliferation and terrorist activities; second, the use of effective diplomacy and the hurdles and opportunities it offered.

The recently uncovered scandals at Lloyds Bank have forced Government officials to dissect hundreds of thousands of transactions made by the chain, used to help Iran filter millions of dollars in banned transactions through United States financial branches. The beneficiaries, proven associates of Hamas, would help to further Iran’s quest to increase funding for uranium enrichment.

Burns offered a unique approach to the issue by emphasizing the importance of diplomacy. He applauded Obama’s encouragement of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran. At the same time, however, Burns pointed out that the country must not dismiss the possible use of force. If Iran continues to pursue corruption, non-cooperation, and intentions to produce nuclear weapons, the U.S. must present a united front with Russia and China. In this case, sanctions are inevitable and multilateral cooperation is a necessity.

As explained by the experts, the United States does not request a regime change in Iran. Rather, it requests the nation to cooperate with efforts towards a diplomatic approach to finding common ground.

For more information about U.S policy on nuclear weapons see Promoting a World Without Nuclear Weapons.