Negotiation between USA and Iran – Is it Possible or not? Some Implications for the Middle East Security

Megi Benia, Georgia

On April 7, 1980, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Iran after the attack of American embassy in Tehran in 1979.

On September 2013, the presidents of America and Iran spoke directly for the first time since 1979, setting the stage for delicate negotiations that could reshape the two adversaries' relationship. As it was written in the article of “The Wall Street Journal” (27.09.2013) “The 15-minute call between Barack Obama and Iran's Hasan Rouhani, which focused on Iran's disputed nuclear program, topped a week of dramatic twists and turns. It also highlighted how critical Washington and Tehran have become to each other's pressing geopolitical goals.”

This conversation, which was held after 34 year of silence, gives us important massages about the future relations between two states - USA and Iran. Why this is important and what are the main benefits for the Middle East region?

First of all, it is important to mention that USA government always has tried to find reliable ally in the Middle East to balance Iran. In the end of 20th century this kind of actor was Iraq and USA felt itself in safety, but when Iraq became the threat for the regional stability and the regime of Saddam Hussein was defeated, for U.S. government the main political backer in the Middle East was Israel.  However, now as the development show, Israel tries to become the leader of the region not giving the attention to the fact of  USA.

On the other side there are have several problems in the region: Syria, militant movements in the region and the Palestinian territories.

U.S. president Barack Obama tries to find the ways for solution of all the problems listed above through the negotiation processes on nuclear weapons with Iran. Obama focuses on curtailing Iran's nuclear program, dismantling Syria's chemical weapons and providing an Arab-Israeli peace agreement.

He needs support from Iran's president by all means to achieve lasting success at any of those, because Iran is the biggest backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has developed militant movements in Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian territories that could have opened the Mideast peace process. 

It is time for peace in the Middle East, which it has been waiting for the decades and if modern superpower has will to implement peace in this region, it will happen despite the fact that this process has unnerved many of Washington's closest Mideast allies beyond Israel, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.