New ‘Moderate’ Iranian President And Diplomatic Opportunities: Not So Fast

Under the headline, “Hopes For A Diplomatic Opening Rise Under Iran’s New President,” The New York Times reported that the newly-elected President of Iran, Mahmoud Pezeshkian, described as a “reformist” and “moderate,” wants warmer relations with the West with the goal of ending sanctions.

Longtime U.S. Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross is quoted as saying that Pezeshkian “represents a more pragmatic posture and less confrontational posture toward the outside and the inside.” As an afterthought Ross also offered the obvious caveat that Iran’s supreme leader Aytollah Ali Khameni “would do a great deal to limit the new president’s international agenda.

In fact, as The Times also notes, most of the Iranian president’s powers are confined to domestic issues with the Ayatollah, as the country’s highest political and religious official, making all of the major policy decisions, particularly with respect to foreign affairs and Iran’s nuclear program.

Far be it from us to pooh-pooh any prospect of Iran’s possible redemption and return to the community of nations. What concerns us is that the Obama and Biden Administrations have typically taken an Alice in Wonderland approach with the Islamic state – naively entering into a dangerous nuclear control agreement with a fatally flawed inspection mechanism, unilaterally easing economic sanctions and releasing billions of Iranian funds frozen in the U.S. – all while Iran remains as the principal supporter of terror in the world. Will the Biden Administration now also read more into this new development than what is likely there and continue to pursue its overly trusting, sophomoric and largely inexplicable policy?

And as far as Israel is concerned, the new president reaffirmed Iran’s anti-Israel stance saying that “resistance movements across the region will not allow Israel’s criminal policies towards the Palestinians and other nations in the region to continue.”

The Biden Administration bears careful monitoring and oversight by Congress here – perhaps now more than ever.