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A Warm Welcome Expected at U.N. for Hassan Rouhani of Iran Iranian’s U.N. Speech Appears to Favor Engagement
(1 day later)
President Hassan Rouhani of Iran is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. Thomas Erdbrink, the Tehran bureau chief for The New York Times, looks at what message Mr. Rouhani has for international leaders and how it might be received. President Hassan Rouhani of Iran suggested on Monday in his United Nations speech that the nuclear agreement with major powers including the United States had helped create the basis for a broader engagement, in what appeared to be a difference — in tone, at least — with his own leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mr. Rouhani, Iran’s leader since 2013, now has something to show for his presidency at the assembly: He concluded a nuclear deal with six world powers, including Iran’s nemesis, the United States. And, for the first time in years, Iran can look forward to the lifting of sanctions when the deal is put in effect. Addressing the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting, Mr. Rouhani spent considerable time extolling the diplomatic success of the agreement. It will lift years of painful economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for verifiable guarantees that its nuclear activities remain peaceful.
Initially, the ban on financial transactions and oil sales will be eased. After that, more steps will be taken as Iran meets certain benchmarks, including limits on elements of its nuclear program and increased transparency of that program. In what would have seemed unthinkable a few years ago, when Mr. Rouhani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, emphasized what he viewed as the evils of the United States in his United Nations speeches, there were no shrill anti-American denunciations.
Even more warmly than in previous years. Mr. Rouhani has long carried the promise of change, especially for countries — mainly in Europe — where businesses are eager to enter Iran. Mr. Rouhani, who had made the nuclear deal a major goal since he was elected in 2013, even commended the United States — along with the other participants — for their role in helping achieve it.
Mr. Rouhani will likely repeat earlier statements that he has made at the General Assembly: The world must unite to fight terrorism, including the forces trying to defeat President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Iran’s ally. Mr. Rouhani will laud the nuclear deal, and call for all partners (read: the United States) to fulfill the agreement and lift all sanctions. “From our point of view, the agreed-upon deal is not the final objective but a development which can and should be the basis of further achievements to come,” Mr. Rouhani said, according to the official English-language translation of his speech.
In Iran, Mr. Rouhani, a cleric since he was 13 years old, is called the “Sheikh of Diplomacy.” His every word is measured and planned. At another point, he said: “I say to all nations and governments: We will not forget the past, but we do not wish to live in the past. We will not forget war and sanctions, but we look to peace and development.”
It would be surprising if there was a meeting or even a handshake between Mr. Rouhani and President Obama. In 2013, after Mr. Rouhani’s first appearance at the United Nations General Assembly, the two presidents spoke by phone. Upon his return to Tehran, Mr. Rouhani was pelted with eggs and a shoe (a great insult in Islam). Mr. Rouhani still made a point of denouncing Israel, the most important American ally in the region, and alluding to its undeclared arsenal of nuclear weapons. He said Israel was “the only impediment” to the creation of a “nuclear weapons-free Middle East.”
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has recently spoken out against any form of rapprochement with the United States. So any symbolic gesture between Mr. Obama and Mr. Rouhani would be a surprise. Israel, a strong critic of the Iranian nuclear agreement, has neither confirmed nor denied its possession of atomic arms.
Mr. Rouhani’s choice of words in his speech at the General Assembly, the world’s biggest stage, was largely optimistic and appeared to reflect an increased confidence partly because of the nuclear agreement, which many skeptics in both the United States and Iran had once regarded as highly unlikely.
His speech contrasted with the suspicion and defiance conveyed by Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final word on important matters like Iran’s nuclear activities.
Although the ayatollah approved the negotiations that led to the agreement, he has said he foresees no broader rapprochement with the United States and has expressed deep suspicion about American intentions toward Iran.
Political analysts who have scrutinized Mr. Rouhani’s statements said the difference in emphasis between him and Ayatollah Khamenei seemed significant.
In Mr. Rouhani’s private meetings during his United Nations visit this year, the difference was even more pronounced, some said.
Cliff Kupchan, the chairman of the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy, who attended a meeting between Mr. Rouhani and academics in New York on Sunday, said the Iranian president had been “surprisingly upbeat” on prospects for improved ties with the United States.
“He was clear that the sides couldn’t resolve all outstanding issues quickly,” Mr. Kupchan said.
“But Rouhani said the nuclear agreement had created hope, that the U.S. and Iran are getting to know each other, and that bilateral communication is much better. Rouhani and Khamenei are either playing ‘good cop, bad cop’ or they disagree on a thaw with the U.S.”