Negotiation between the United States and Iran: The American party had not really come to negotiate, analyzes jurist Mohsen Kadivar

Mohsen Kadivar

is an Iranian jurist, theologian, and Shiite cleric. He was imprisoned under the Shah’s regime and also faced the challenges of the Islamic Republic for his criticisms of the Velayat-e Faqih doctrine, introduced by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.

In 1999, Kadivar was sentenced to eighteen months in prison for spreading false information about the Iranian Islamic Republic system and supporting enemies of the Islamic revolution. He was incarcerated in the notorious Evin Prison. In 2016, he joined a group of Iranian intellectuals, including Sedigheh Vasmaghi, in condemning the condemnation of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri for revealing information about the executions of political prisoners in 1988. Mohsen Kadivar is currently a professor of Islamic studies at Duke University in North Carolina, USA.

Context: Mohsen Kadivar’s background and experiences in Iran demonstrate his longstanding involvement in critiquing the Iranian government and advocating for social justice and political transparency.

What should be thought of the failed peace negotiations? What strategy is being adopted by both sides?

It was far from guaranteed that an agreement would be reached after the first session of peace negotiations, especially considering the complexity of US-Iran relations over the past forty-seven years. The initial session typically serves as a diplomatic formality, and the conclusion of the first round of talks without an agreement – as announced by the US vice president – should be interpreted as…