00:00Let's bring in now Dr. Hushang Ahmed-Ahmadi, a former Iranian presidential candidate.
00:05He's also founder and president of the American Iranian Council,
00:09which is focused on improving U.S.-Iran relations.
00:12Thank you so much for your time.
00:14How hopeful are you that these talks will actually take place?
00:19Well, 50-50 at best.
00:22I mean, obviously, the U.S. side is trying to force Iran into this negotiation
00:28and the Iranians are trying not to negotiate under duress.
00:33Duress means a ceasefire that's been violated, a ship that has been taken off in the Persian Gulf.
00:41And then at the same time, the U.S. is saying,
00:46listen, if you don't come to the table, I'm going to destroy you.
00:50So it's a situation of under duress.
00:53And I don't know if Tehran actually can take that kind of proposal for negotiation.
01:01Remember, the last two wars happened right in the middle of the U.S.-Iran negotiations.
01:11And then this negotiation could actually also lead to another war.
01:16I think both sides have taken an extremely childish view of all these relations,
01:23all these negotiations.
01:24Washington is like a kid.
01:27And Tehran has lost in the middle of a game between the radicals and, I don't know, the moderates.
01:34And they also don't know what to do.
01:37Every minute they come negotiate, go, and then take back whatever they have done.
01:44So, again, I am very disappointed, honestly.
01:48And I think that Pakistan is not also doing a good job.
01:54I think they should be mature enough to understand that you can't just force a negotiation into a particular time
02:03framework.
02:04They need more time.
02:05They need more thinking.
02:06Both sides need to come up with some strategy for moving forward.
02:12What is the purpose of these negotiations?
02:16Doctor, do you think that it might actually boil down to losing the appetite for more war, more bombing?
02:24We know that Donald Trump is still talking about bombing if the ceasefire expires without an agreement.
02:29But do you think there's an appetite on either or both sides to really go back to a full-scale
02:36military escalation?
02:38No, I think there is no appetite.
02:41There was no appetite on Iran's side to begin with.
02:44Iran has been invaded.
02:45They have attacked Iran.
02:47In the U.S. side, I think Mr. Trump has learned this lesson in practice that Iran is not Venezuela,
02:55that you just can't do what, you know, you wish to do.
02:59And then there is the market, there is the street, and there is the prices and oil and gas and
03:06so on.
03:07So Mr. Trump is under tremendous pressure from here to end this war, this conflict,
03:14and come up with at least a long-term solution about what has to be done with Iran and the
03:21U.S.-Iran relations.
03:22For 40 years, I have been telling both sides that the only, the only way out in this relationship,
03:31if both sides will come to the table directly, without, without mediation,
03:37directly, comprehensively toward normalization of relationship.
03:44Washington can go to Tehran, or Tehran can come to Washington
03:48and sit down just like two mature people
03:52and put the most important thing in the middle of this relation,
03:57and that is the fact that this relation is not normal.
04:01This is abnormal.
04:02This is an abnormal relation.
04:04It's not just a relation that doesn't exist.
04:07So again, I think they really have to normalize,
04:11not to make it friendly.
04:14normalize, exchange diplomatic, you know, missions and so on.
04:19Again, that's the only way out.
04:21They can go around this, this cycle forever.
04:26That, the end, is exactly what I just said.
04:30Yeah, thank you so much.
04:31Excellent point there.
04:33Dr. Hushan Amir Ahmadi, former Iranian presidential candidate,
04:37he's also the president of the American Iranian Council.
04:40Thank you so much for joining us.
04:42My pleasure.
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