Iran

Iran is a country that is currently associated with nuclear energy, and dubious elections. Riots have taken place since the 2009 Presidential elections, and European countries regard Iran as a threat to global security.

Millions of people protested in Iran following the announcement that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the elections. Citizens were asked to switch on every electrical appliance in their house, in an attempt to trip Tehran's electrical grid. Anti-regime slogans were scribbled on money. Drivers honked loudly, and flashed their headlights. There were also boycotts, and riots. As Mohandas Gandhi, the famous 'father of India' once mused, "Even the most powerful cannot rule without the cooperation of the ruled".

Apart from internal unrest, Iran's relations with Europe are also bad. There s no mutual trust, and France regards Iran as a threat to security. After three fruitless and bitter years of talks between Iran and European countries, Europe realised that it would not lead to anywhere, as Iran was just buying time. Recently, the United States have established formal contacts with Iran, and talks are ongoing. European countries have mixed feelings over the U.S's involvement in this issue. On one hand, they welcome it, but they also are worried that the U.S diplomats will face the same political problems as them. As an anonymous senior European official said, "They (the U.S diplomats) are stumbling into all the diplomatic traps we encountered". European countries are also agitated that President Obama did not consult them, treating them like side shadows. President Obama, on the other hand, is also unhappy with that European countries continue to trade with Iran. Europe's reply? That there is no other choice. Iran is also unwilling to heed Security Council resolutions on its nuclear program, citing the lack of action on Israeli's nuclear weapons.

Negotiations are expected to be tough. Iran claims that they have no plans of building nuclear weapons, but the United States does not believe those claims. This is a bottleneck, and this has been the point of contention for years of stubborn talks. However, things are looking better now. Iran seems to be more willing to compromise, and negotiate. This could be attributed to their internal political crisis, and the change of leadership in the U.S. During the meeting in Geneva on October 1^st, Iran allowed inspectors into a recently disclosed enrichment facility. The main focal point of that meeting was Iran's package of proposals, and not suspensions or sanctions, something new. Experts feel that this is a positive change.

Currently, it seems that Iran does not want to produce a nuclear weapon, but just wants to have to means to do so. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has published a report stating that Iran has the means of producing a nuclear weapon, but is not doing so. This is in line with the ban on the production of nuclear weapons issued by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

For negotiations to be successful, Europe and Iran needs to realise, and emphasise certain things.

Europe	Iran
Emphasise common interests	They will face sanctions if they refuse to negotiate seriously
Understand that Iran will fall into line just because the position is obvious to them	Its future needs more integration in the world economy
Rebut the claim that they have been weak in Iran	They should accommodate with IAEA

Mr. Parsi, a member of the National Iranian American Council, notes, "Sometime, a compromise is an adjustment to reality"