Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness Statement on Iran

Apr 8, 2010

The Pennsylvania ecumenical peace group, Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness (LIPW) has issued the following statement on April 1, 2010 which they presented to Senator Robert Casey (PA). This statement reflects FCNL's position that the broad based sanctions against Iran being considered by Congress will be detrimental to efforts to engage Iran.
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Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness
P. O. Box 1092
Lancaster, Pa. 17608

Statement of Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness on U.S.-Iran Relations

On January 29, 2010, Senator Casey's office reported that "Senator Casey Applauds Passage of Iran Sanctions Bill."

We call on Senator Casey, as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, to support comprehensive multilateral negotiations with Iran that would include rather than isolate Iran in the Middle East community.

The Obama Administration pledged to sit down with Iran without preconditions to negotiate the differences between our nations. The President's two Nowruz statements to the Iranian government and people, as well as his Cairo speech to the Islamic world were good starts. The P5+1 meeting with Iran over the nuclear issue also was a positive step forward.

To say diplomatic efforts have now been exhausted is surely unfounded. We ask for more substantial engagement than these several limited initiatives. We believe that the current U. S. agenda with Iran is focused too narrowly on nuclear issues. We join those analysts who urge Iran's "regional integration through dialogue and engagement."

The tightening of sanctions - as called for in the Senate bill supported by Senator Casey - would only heighten tensions and make more likely the possibility of military incidents or attacks. We ask Senator Casey to reassess his position in support of sanctions. We do not concur that Iran poses a threat to the United States or to Israel and we call on Senator Casey to support a more comprehensive and conciliatory policy toward Iran.

Missed Opportunities
During these 30+ years without diplomatic relations, there have been many missed opportunities.

• After President Khatami was elected in 1997, he apologized for the takeover of the US embassy in Tehran and the holding of diplomats hostage for 444 days.


• Secretary of State Madeline Albright admitted in 2000 that the CIA had been involved in the 1953 coup that ousted democratically elected Prime Minister Mossadeq and reinstalled the Shah.


• After the terror attacks of September 2001, Iran worked actively and helpfully with the US government to identify al Qaeda operatives.


• In 2003, Iran proposed comprehensive negotiations of the range of issues known to be important to both countries. The US administration did not respond to or acknowledge the offer.

The Nuclear Issue
Iran is an original signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and is entitled to development of nuclear technology for civilian energy needs. It is the country most closely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has repeatedly confirmed there has been no diversion of nuclear resources from civilian to military purposes.

Yet leading officials of the Obama Administration and leading members of Congress, urged on by Israel and by AIPAC, continue to demonstrate hostility toward Iran by inaccurately describing its civilian nuclear program as a threat to the world.

• It is important that the U.S. recognize Iran's right, under the NPT and the surveillance of the IAEA, to the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes including the full nuclear cycle.


• U.S. intelligence concluded in 2007 that Iran is not working to develop nuclear weapons. Were it to change course now, it would be 2014 before Iran had the capability to launch a nuclear weapon, according to Israeli intelligence.

A preliminary agreement between Iran and the P5+1 to ship out Iran's low enriched uranium to be converted to fuel rods of 20 percent enrichment for use in producing medical isotopes looked hopeful. Iran has proposed changes to the preliminary agreement but remains ready to talk. This is no time to abandon those negotiations.

Common Interests
Iran and the US share many common interests: good relations with Arab States; stable and independent governments in Afghanistan and Iraq; open trade; the denial of a safe haven in that part of the world for terrorist groups fomenting violence; and a reduction of drug trafficking. Negotiation can lead to the achievement of these shared interests and a secure future for all.

Long-standing and unresolved grievances also stand between our two nations. War would not resolve those grievances; it would only multiply the suffering, deepen the suspicion, and prolong the enmity.

"There is another way, one far more likely to succeed: Open the door to direct, unconditional and comprehensive negotiations at the senior diplomatic level where personal contacts can be developed, intentions tested, and possibilities explored on both sides." This was the November 2008 recommendation contained in the Joint Experts' Statement On Iran.

A similar theme was sounded in 2006 by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, headed by Howard Baker and Lee Hamilton. It recommended that the US recognize the important influence that Iran has in Iraq and cooperate with Iran in working toward the transition to an independent, stable Iraq.

Moreover, normalization of diplomatic relations with Iran would serve to strengthen the pro-democracy groups within Iran. The Iranian people have many good reasons to regard the U.S. with suspicion and will unite around opposition to U.S. actions perceived to be interference. This suspicion will be heightened by the tightening of sanctions but can be overcome by good faith, bilateral negotiations.

Request
It is urgent that leadership for peaceful resolution of our differences with Iran be exercised now.

Momentum for an escalation of hostilities is building, much as it did in the months prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. We see this in the many distortions routinely voiced by U.S. political leaders and reported by the U.S. media. This momentum is supported by interests that would profit from another costly Middle East war.

Meanwhile, tensions within Iran are increasing, driven in part by threats from Israel and the U.S. and also by terrorist groups operating within that society, reportedly with U.S. funding.

To repeat, we support comprehensive negotiations with Iran with the intention of reestablishing normal diplomatic relations. We ask Senator Casey as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs to provide leadership in the Senate toward this end.