Iran and the West

DW: Ahead of the talks in Vienna, US Secretary of State John Kerry has told Iran not to "squander a historic opportunity to end Iran's economic and diplomatic isolation." Iran promptly warned the West not to cross "red lines."

You were present at the last round of negotiations in Vienna in June. What was your impression - is there sufficient political will for a deal on either side?

Ellie Geranmayeh: The determination and political will on both sides is really impressive. There is such a huge drive from all of them to meet on a daily basis from now until the end of July.

I think we don't give enough credit - especially on the Iran-US side - of how unprecedented this whole set of affairs is. After 35 years of animosity, there is now a working relationship between these negotiators on the nuclear issues.

The amount of respect the negotiators are showing each other - when I talk to the Western parties, they really highlight how professional the Iranian negotiators are, how serious they are to engage in the crucial issues. Same when you speak to the Iranians, they highlight the determination of the US, Catherine Ashton's personal commitment to get the talks to the stage they're at now.

Is Iran's commitment mainly due to the change in regime?

The back-channel talks with Iran and the US started under the previous administration of [former Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad. So, there was a clear signal from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khameini, that he was at least interested in seeing the potential for deal-making with the West.

We're now talking about the best technical team, the best set of politicians Iran has to offer that are at the negotiating table. It's an important sign. President Hassan Rouhani's cabinet - more than half of them are US-educated - know how to speak to the West. It's what I call the Rouhani factor - it's had a huge impact on the pace and momentum of these talks.

What is Iran's motivation here?

The supreme leader is a very pragmatic person. Iran, under the Islamic Republic of Iran, has never tried to isolate itself from the global economy. This is where Iran is very different to the North Korea model that people always compare Iran to.

Iran has always wanted to be part of this global economic platform, and it's always wanted its place as a regional actor. There is a clear necessity, on the economic front, to engage with Western partners. There is a sense that business relations with the Russians and the Chinese are not enough. They need Western technology and investment.

Given the deteriorating situation in Iraq, is dealing with Iraq now more important than dealing with the nuclear issue?

I don't think it will be a focus. There are so many technical issues to be dealt with on the nuclear issue that there will be a complete focus on that.

But the Iraq issue has acted as a signal, a reminder to all the negotiators that a nuclear deal with Iran is not just a means in itself. It has the potential for a wider scope of dialogue with Iran. The negotiators can use it to boost the momentum behind why a nuclear deal is necessary.

So, the nuclear talks could be a kind of blueprint for further cooperation with Iran. How do you think the West should engage Tehran in the region?

Somehow, we've managed in the last 10 years to box Iran completely out of this regional dialogue in the Middle East. We've constantly said that Iran has such a huge stake in the problems in this region and yet, we're ignoring it as if it's just going to go away if we box it off.

It has had the opposite effect, especially under Ahmadinejad's tenure - where Iran wanted to amplify its voice in the region because it was being ignored.

Do Western policies in the region need a major overhaul in your view?

It's clear that Western policy-making hasn't been as effective as we thought - whether it's in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya.

There needs to be a shift towards more extensive dialogue with Iran on regional security issues; a more businesslike relationship [where the West recognizes] that, even though the West may not like a lot of Iran's activities in the region, it is a counterpart in the region that can't be ignored.

And a nuclear deal could be part of this approach?

If both sides can look at a nuclear deal and say 'we managed to negotiate on one of the most difficult issues potentially in the last 50 years and that has been in focus at the UN Security Council for the last 10 years, then maybe there is potential for us to sit down and talk about regional security issues.'

If Rouhani's team goes back with nothing on the nuclear issue, I think, we can rule out any constructive engagement with Iraq on the regional issues.

Ellie Geranmayeh is a policy fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Programme of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank. Geranmayeh, who is based in the UK, specializes in Iran's domestic and foreign policy, as well as its relations with the European Union.