Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
Iran has a new president, but that won’t affect the US-Iran relationship, because the US is held hostage to the Israel Lobby, AIPAC. Masoud Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old cardiac surgeon, former health minister, and current Member of Parliament, won 53% of the vote in a runoff election in Iran.
Pezeshkian is open to a new relationship with the US, but any policy change will have to wait until the outcome of the US election in November. Similarly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is waiting for the outcome of the US election.
“I have come … to seek lasting peace and tranquility and cooperation in the region, as well as dialogue and constructive interaction with the world,” Pezeshkian said in a speech.
Regardless of which candidate will be elected, they will be a supporter of Israel. President Donald Trump will remember in his 2020 election race Netanyahu stabbed him in the back, and came out publically in support of Joe Biden, even though Trump had done more for Israel than any previous US president.
“I haven’t spoken to him since,” Trump said in an interview with Axios’ Barak Ravid in December 2021, in reference to Netanyahu. “F**k him,” he said.
Israel keeps Iran as their designated ‘Enemy Number One’. Regardless of leadership change, or international diplomacy, Iran is destined to remain the bad guy in the Israeli drama.
The US has a similar policy, which is designed to keep the American public in fear of something foreign. At one time, Americans were afraid of Al Qaeda, and then it morphed into ISIS. Putin has taken the place of the enemy as portrayed in the Biden-controlled US media.
Pezeshkian has been a member of parliament since 2008, representing Tabriz in northwestern Iran. His father is of Turkic descent, while his mother is Kurdish. Pezeshkian grew up speaking Turkic, Kurdish, and Farsi. Some analysts see Pezeshkian as a moderating force who may sympathize with minorities.
According to Netanyahu, Iran seeks to develop a nuclear bomb with which to ‘nuke’ Israel into non-existence. According to the Iranian supreme leadership, Iran wants nuclear ability to have a source of electricity, rather than polluting the environment by burning fossil fuels.
Saudi Arabia, a close US ally and US-made weapons customer, also has told the US administration they will pursue building a nuclear power plant, which is common in many Western countries. The US will allow the Saudis their nuclear project, but in exchange for signing the Abraham Accords, which will normalize diplomatic relations with Israel. Experts view Saudi Arabia as the powerhouse in the Middle East, and signing a deal with Israel has been one of the two main goals of Netanyahu since taking office. His second goal is to expand the illegal settlements in the West Bank, effectively annexing the land. The Gaza War has put normalization plans on hold as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reiterated the official Saudi position rejecting the occupation of Palestine and demanding a two-state solution.
Iran and Hezbollah, and others in the resistance movement are demanding the end of the occupation of Palestine. If Israel would negotiate a final peace deal with the Palestinian people, there would be no armed resistance. In theory, the UN, the US, the UK, and almost every country have agreed that the UN resolution for a two-state solution should be implemented as soon as possible. That peace deal would mark the end of violence against Israel, and both Israelis and Palestinians could live in peace, and with human rights.
Pezeshkian signaled there would be no change in Iran’s backing of Hezbollah, whose attacks since Oct. 7 have raised the specter of a wider war in the region. He wrote to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that “support for resistance groups will continue vigorously.”
But, Netanyahu’s extremist government has said they will never give one inch of land to the Palestinians, and instead want to keep Gaza under military occupation forever and continue to hold the 3 million Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank under an iron-fist rule which is designed never to end.
The US has a two-faced policy on Israel. On the one hand, the US President says they are committed to a two-state solution, and on the other hand, he is sending Israel all the weapons they request to keep the genocide going in Gaza. On April 20, the House passed a bill to provide $26.3 billion in assistance to Israel. This split personality is due to AIPAC. From the White House to Capitol Hill, every politician knows their political career depends on bowing down to AIPAC.
The White House, regardless of its occupant, will have the opportunity to see whether a serious diplomatic process containing the nuclear issue and de-escalation is possible with the Pezeshkian leadership.
Although Pezeshkian is open to dialog with the West, he will face a serious obstacle because the US is unwilling to engage in diplomacy with Iran, and that stems from the political power of AIPAC which is determined to keep Iran as the enemy.
Iran is a regional power with important allies: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Palestine. Pezeshkian recently thanked Russia and China for their support during some of the darkest days in Iran.
The US would like to isolate Iran, but that has failed, as the days of the US as the sole superpower are over, and a new world is emerging with opportunities for change and growth.
Pezeshkian will not likely change the US-Iran relationship fundamentally, but he might be able to improve the lives of Iranians.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist.
