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Here, we present an interview of Irdiplomacy.ir with Dr. Hermidas Bavand, a university professor.

- What is your assessment of the 11th presidential election from a foreign policy perspective?

- The 11th presidential election, which was held yesterday, is significant from two aspects; first, the issues which were discussed with regard to foreign policy. Considering the deadlocks and difficulties Iran is faced with at the present time in various fields, particularly in economic and political areas, we saw that during the campaigns some candidates, even from the Principalist faction, criticized the trend of foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear program during recent years. In the third televised debate, Mr. Rohani, Mr. Rezaei and even Mr. Velayati, who is the international advisor of the Supreme Leader, harshly criticized Mr. Jalili’s approach in the nuclear negotiations. The low number of votes Mr. Jalili received in this election and the higher number of votes for Mr. Rohani and Mr. Rezaei show that the public opinion, along with the other candidates, are critical of Mr. Jalili’s actions.

The second point is the huge voter turnout in this election. Despite all the doubts and concerns which existed in the society with regard to the election, support for Mr. Rohani, as the representative of the reformist discourse and the policy of moderation, indicates the general public inclination towards changing the status quo. This issue is not only related to the existing radicalism and the elimination of the elite from the domestic scene, but it also covers foreign policy. Iran’s foreign policy during the past 8 years has been radical and aggressive and people feel that this foreign policy has damaged our national interests and has had negative impacts on their daily lives.

Therefore, I believe that public tendency towards Mr. Rohani is more than anything related to the people’s demands to change the present situation and it can balance foreign policy and the trend of negotiations in the nuclear dossier. It must be noted that Mr. Rohani had significant responsibility in Iran’s nuclear file and, as the Secretary of the National Security Council, he was Iran’s chief negotiator with the three European countries who represented the West. Mr. Rohani is a calm and moderate man and, as expressed in his presidential campaign, seeks constructive dialogue with the West. If elected, this issue can help reconstruct Iran’s reputation in the world community.

- How would you evaluate the impacts of this election on nuclear negotiations?

- As you are well aware, the nuclear issue, at the present time, has become the most important axis of the West’s pressure on Iran. Lack of success in nuclear negotiations has had many negative impacts on other areas, especially in economic and financial and even political fields. Iran’s political isolation in the world and the region is one of the effects of this trend. Mr. Rohani has had important responsibilities in the nuclear issue and has a different approach than Mr. Jalili in solving the nuclear dossier. Mr. Rohani, like Mr. Hashemi, has a different view than the dominant view regarding foreign policy, relations with the US, and regional crises, particularly the crisis in Syria. This approach will lead to balance in foreign policy. One of his campaign slogans was related to this issue and many times he stated “It is good to have centrifuges running, provided people’s lives and livelihoods are also running”. On this basis, he believes that there should be cooperation in all domains in the country and progress made in one area must not create obstacles in other areas. Thus, in order to solve the country’s current problems in foreign policy, Mr. Rohani must pay attention to the nuclear issue. What is obvious is that considering the huge economic problems of the country, anyone who becomes president must first attempt to solve the economic problems. These problems are related to the sanctions and international pressures, and resolving them depends on the resolution of Iran’s nuclear issue.

- You mentioned the issue of sanctions. Can it be hoped that the sanctions imposed against Iran will be removed, considering the political changes in Iran?

- Right now, there are two groups of sanctions against Iran; the sanctions which were imposed by the Security Council, which are mainly related to military, nuclear, and missile limitations and issues, and the unilateral or multilateral sanctions which have been imposed by the US, the EU, and their allies against Iran. Any opening in Iran’s nuclear dossier can have a relatively positive impact on the Security Council sanctions and/or the West’s unilateral sanctions. However, this must not be considered as an easy task and it is wrong to expect that the sanctions will be removed overnight, in particular with the unilateral sanctions which should be removed in an interaction with the West and especially the US. It should not be forgotten that a major blow to Iran’s economy was dealt by these unilateral sanctions. The removal of the Security Council resolutions also needs a complicated and long process and all permanent members of the Security Council must positively vote for this, and this is where the US might become an issue. Nevertheless, the issue of removal of sanctions is a long process which must advance step by step. Although it cannot be expected for these sanctions to be removed in the short run, the trend of Iran’s foreign policy can be directed towards the gradual removal of these sanctions on a daily basis.

- Can the presidency of Mr. Rohani impact Iran-US relations? What will be the US’ position with regard to this development in Iran?

- There is no doubt that it will impact these relations. Of course, it must not be forgotten that in the domestic political arena and particularly in the different centers of decision-making in Iran, there are different views in this regard. But in my opinion, considering the approaches of the Obama administration, the US government balances its policies according to the realities of the day. On the other hand, Mr. Rohani, like Mr. Hashemi, has different viewpoints than the dominant view with regard to foreign policy and relations with the US and regional crises, especially the Syrian crisis. This approach will lead to balance in Iran’s foreign policy. On the other hand, the US will be forced to somehow change its previous positions with regard to Iran. I do not believe that the US’ strategy is to confront Iran or that it has made a decision to change the political regime in Iran. Therefore, considering the developments and balances in Iran’s domestic policies and their reflections in its foreign policy, the US will change its approach towards Iran.