Ex-White House Official: Trump Administration Under Pressure to Reduce Tensions with Iran
Professor Frank N. von Hippel, former assistant director for national security in the White House Office of Science and Technology says sanctioning the Iranian leader foreign minister would certainly be counterproductive in undermining any possibility” for diplomatic talks between Iran and the US.
In an exclusive interview with FNA, the Princeton University professor said, “It is difficult to understand how Trump believed that it would be possible for the US to end its commitments and press the other parties to the deal to do the same without creating the possibility that Iran would end its commitments.”
“The Trump Administration is under pressure to reduce the tensions with Iran,” he added.
Frank von Hippel is a theoretical physicist, and a Professor of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Prior to working at Princeton, he worked for ten years in the field of theoretical elementary-particle physics.
In the 1980s, as chairman of the Federation of American Scientists, Von Hippel partnered with Evgenyi Velikhov in advising Mikhail Gorbachev on the technical basis for steps to end the nuclear arms race.
From 1993 to 1995, he was the Assistant Director for National Security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
He now serves on the National Advisory Board of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the research arm of Council for a Livable World. He is a member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials.
Following is the full text of the interview:
Q: The United States recently imposed new sanctions against senior Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader and some senior Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders. It was announced that Iranian Foreign Secretary Javad Zarif would be hit with the US sanctions later, too. What could be the objective of this move?
A: My guess is that this is an indication that there are few remaining Iranian economic activities that the Trump Administration has not already sanctioned. Sanctioning the Supreme Leader and Foreign Minister would certainly be counterproductive in undermining any possibility for diplomatic talks. This therefore would suggest that the Trump Administration currently has little interest in such diplomatic talks. This is very unfortunate, especially given the currently increasing chances of an unintended war.
Q: The sanctions on Iranian officials seem to be a move to buy Trump some reputation and alleviate his pains or grief after Iran shot down an American surveillance drone. How do you evaluate the move?
A: This is possible. I am not sure that “grief” is the right word to use since no loss of human life was involved. He claims that his first impulse was a military response, which could have resulted in war. From that perspective, the announcement of the sanctions was a less dangerous act in the short term, although the signal it sends about a lack of interest in diplomacy increases the danger of war in the longer term.
Q: The American Secretary of State recently talked about negotiation with Iran without any preconditions, while he had earlier set a dozen prerequisites for talks with Tehran. Why do you think he has softened tone towards Iran?
A: The Trump Administration is under pressure to reduce the tensions with Iran. It would be a positive development if Secretary Pompeo was seriously willing to talk without preconditions. I hope that Iran will respond that it is willing to talk on that basis. Winston Churchill was claimed to have said that “Jaw, jaw is better than war.” Even if he didn’t say it, that is right.
Q: The United States pretends to be offering talks to Iran while intensifying sanctions on the country. How could one justify such an approach?
A: I don’t think that negotiations can accomplish anything if there are not potential benefits for Iran as well as for the US and its allies.
Q: How could one explain the western states' complains about modification of the nuclear deal undertakings by Iran that came in a reciprocal move against Washington's full disrespect and violation of the agreement, given the fact that Tehran's new strategy came a year after President Trump withdrew the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)?
A: It is difficult to understand how Trump believed that it would be possible for the US to end its commitments and press the other parties to the deal to do the same without creating the possibility that Iran would end its commitments. That being said, I think that what Iran is doing is very dangerous in that it could provide a pretext for the Trump Administration to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, claiming that it was necessary to stop Iran from getting the bomb.
Source: Fars