Don't Underestimate Mutual Respect Posted by Ilan Goldenberg

It's very easy to underestimate symbolism and conciliatory language in the world of diplomacy.  But the  call for "mutual respect" from both President Ahmadinejad and President Obama over the past 24 hours could be an important and positive step.  After 30 years of missed opportunities and hostile language, you don't just hop into direct talks about cooperation and uranium enrichment programs.  You start with some very basic confidence building steps.  Dialing back the heated rhetoric is an important part of that.  The term "mutual respect" is especially important for a country like Iran, which views itself as a serious regional player and wants to be treated as such - instead of being condescendingly scolded for bad behavior.  Thus, the message of mutual respect is an incredibly important one.

But don't take my word for it.  Here is what Ray Takeyh and Suzanne Maloney had to say in their chapter of the new Brookings-CFR book on the Middle East (which unfortunately isn't online in full).

Precedent indicates that the new President's opening posture and signals will have a disproportionate impact on his ability to deal effectively with Tehran.  As both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations experienced, revising or reversing Iran policy mid-course  in an effective manner can be exceptionally difficult, both because of path dependencies inherent in American bureaucratic politics and because for Iranians, first impressions tend to be lasting ones.  Whatever tone the new president adopts toward Iran at the beginning of his term will shape his options for the ensuing four years at least.

It's important to remember that we have had what looked like promising moments in the past  (See the attempts at the end of the Clinton administration or the "grand bargain" offer made to the Bush administration after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.)  Any hope of real progress could still be dashed.  Confidence building is a fragile and delicate business when there are so many scars in the relationship.  But, right now these early signals look quite promising, especially after the last eight years of outright hostility. 

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Great information is here.I was wondering this only.There are going to be a set of objectives that we have in these conversations, but I think that there's the possibility at least of a relationship of mutual respect and progress.

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