Former US official says diplomacy with Iran unlikely to succeed
A former senior US official on Iran told Iran International that prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran were slim and argued that regime change in Iran would serve US interests, as Washington continues indirect talks with the Islamic Republic.
Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former US special envoy for Iran, said it was “very difficult” to see diplomacy succeeding if the United States maintained its current demands.
“The president has spoken of wanting an end to the nuclear weapons program, zero enrichment, and wants to do something about the ballistic missile program and the support for terrorist proxies in other countries,” Abrams said in an interview. “The regime is not going to accept that.”
“If the president sticks to what he has said he wants and Secretary Rubio has said the United States needs, there will be no deal,” he added.
Abrams said Iran’s leadership was in a weaker position than at any time in recent years, citing Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and a deadly crackdown on protests.
“It is clearer today than ever that it remains in power only by murdering citizens,” he said. “The economy is in a kind of free fall. Look at the value of the currency. The ability of the regime to protect itself militarily has never been lower.”
He argued that Tehran’s domestic vulnerability could make compromise less likely rather than more.
“They will perhaps think, we cannot show weakness, so we cannot compromise,” he said. “So I think it’s hard to believe a reasonable agreement is possible.”
