While Mohammad Javad Larijani, the deputy head of the judiciary in Iran, described Barack Obama with racist and offensive expressions, the American people re-elected this president whose parents weren’t born in the United States in yet another demonstration that all citizens in America, regardless of their color or ethnicity, can participate in the elections, regardless of their race, religion or social class.
During the past four years, President Obama succeeded in gathering international consensus against the Islamic Republic of Iran, although his performance had generated some mistakes that badly affected the Iranian people, among which was abandoning the green movement, and even more, sending a written letter at that time to the leader of the Iranian Republic who is responsible for the suppression of the movement.
With time, Obama realized that the rulers in Iran do not believe in dialogue. Therefore, he imposed a siege on Iran to press the country to abide by international demands. The boycott did not change the stances of the Iranian leaders, but rather it affected the lives of the Iranian citizens. On the other hand, authorities kept promoting that everything was normal and they considered the new situation as another opportunity for them to negotiate with the West, especially that the two parties have been undertaking intense negotiations over the past years. However, Obama fell into the trap when he started negotiating and dealing with Iran’s authorities as the legitimate representative of the Iranian people.
At the present time, and with the noose becoming tighter on Iran, Iranians expect to receive Western support more than ever, especially for their ambitions of consolidating the foundations of democracy and freedom.
During the past four years, Barrack Obama has probably gained a good experience that his rival Mitt Romney would have taken few more years to gain if he had won the elections. This means that Obama should not miss any opportunity when dealing with the Iranian leaders. He needs to take a firm stance regarding this regime that deals in an inhumane way with its people and violates the international resolutions and human values. Obama should know that every new day for the Islamic Republic of Iran is an additional day for the Iranian people away from freedom and democracy, especially that Obama promised during his election campaign to support democracy in Iran.
As for the boycott against Iran, it should target Iranian regime leaders since there is no chance they could be reformed. The major issue in Iran lies in the structure of the regime that is subject to a monopole ruler who has distinct powers that are above the constitution and there are no regulations to hold him accountable. In order to stay in power, this ruler needs to create opponents such as the U.S.A.
Obama knows that after 33 years, Iran still considers the United States as an enemy and it did not take into consideration the positions of the Iranian people regarding the relations with the United States. Iran's Supreme Leader is so hostile toward the United States that he believes that the normalization of relations is nothing but a cup of poison, and his arrogance prevents him from accepting it; this is why Obama should not expect to reach an agreement with this man.
Resolving the pending issues depends on the termination of the Iranian regime and not making concessions or circumventions. It also depends on standing by the Iranian people through supporting the popular movements in order to promote democracy, because the people only can resolve the pending issues with the world. Moreover, the arrival of legitimate representatives to power in this country benefits the free world and supports peace in the Middle East.
(Behrooz Behboodi is an Iranian writer and activist)
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