The U.S. Should Negotiate With Iran on One Issue Right Now

Iranian President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian has signaled an openness to resuming dialogue with Washington on nuclear matters, and senior figures in his administration have indicated their readiness to even negotiate with a future president Donald Trump—the man directly responsible for triggering the unraveling of the 2015 nuclear deal.

With elections looming in November, the Biden administration cannot offer Iran comprehensive assurances on outstanding issues, such as the nuclear deal, that extend beyond its term, especially as the specter of a second Trump presidency casts a dark pall of uncertainty over the deal’s future.

That means that the appetite for nuclear diplomacy will be limited for the next three and a half months, but Pezeshkian’s victory may create an opening for a more urgent matter: Washington and Tehran’s joint interest in preventing a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Pezeshkian is unlikely to cause seismic shifts in Iran’s foreign policy. But given his campaign promises of improving the economy through sanctions relief and direct talks with the United States, as opposed to the previous government’s strategy of “sanctions neutralization” through increased non-dollar trade with Iran’s neighbors, there is an opening worth exploring.