Iran's internal affairs: Keep the U.S. out

As Congress prepares to consider more Iran sanctions, it should also consider that confrontational U.S. policies have come nowhere close to changing Iran's behavior in the last 30 years. On the other hand, in reaction to a contested election, the Iranians have formed an unprecedented home-grown movement for political expression through their own resources, their own desire for democratic progress, and their own sacrifices.

No coercive American government policy — be it threat of force or punitive sanctions or negative broadcast propaganda — is responsible for the wave of mass public protest that has taken Tehran by storm and split its political and religious establishments over the last month.

Even still, Democrat and Republican House and Senate members alike still believe (remarkably) that more U.S. sanctions or anti-government broadcasts will somehow help improve the situation. According to activists in Iran, so long as these programs are backed by the U.S. government, they stand to backfire and do more harm than good, and we should resist the urge to support them.

It’s true that the violence from the government crackdowns has been brutal and appalling but, as Stephen Kinzer noted in a recent article, the U.S. government simply lacks the moral authority to intervene in Iran’s internal affairs.

This harsh reality may anger some people, but it's difficult to dispute that we have a poor track record when it comes to "imposing democracy" in Iran and the Middle East, and that an aggressive reaction to the Iranian government’s practices has historically proven dangerous.

Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi’s call for a United Nations human rights monitor to Iran is one option that seems to make sense. This would be a multilateral measure that should put pressure on the Iranian authorities while also placating those who say that the U.S. should do more to help Iran's people. Of course, it will not placate everybody.

As historic as the current situation is inside Iran, it is also our best opportunity as Americans to do what we have seldom done with respect to Iran — and that is to pause and listen to the will of seasoned civic leaders working tirelessly within the current political system to develop change. Ebadi is a human rights leader and an established and respected name among Iranians as well as the international community. She understands what is needed and I trust that she knows better than certain Iranian exiles, who have not been to Iran in decades.

Iran is one of the founding members of the U.N. and wants to avoid further international fallout. By backing Ebadi’s call for an envoy and not pushing for more coercion, the Iranian government would be placed on the defensive and our message to the Iranian people would be clear — we want to help but we first accept that Iranians should be the masters of their own destiny; democracy in Iran should come from within; it is not and should not be the American government’s struggle. The American people stand in solidarity with your cause, and we accept that it is not our place to dictate the terms of democratic change.

Such gestures may also help reverse years of Iranian disdain and mistrust of America and its intentions in Iran. The Iranian people must believe that coerciveness is not the goal in Washington, and that people working intelligently within the establishment can be more nuanced in their approach to Iran. As an American of Iranian descent, I believe Iranians deserve to see that the American policy world can get it right and that America's values, goals, and aspirations for peace and progress do not depend on Iran's surrender.

As has been demonstrated in protests in Washington D.C. and elsewhere in the country, there are a growing number of Americans who genuinely care about the nonviolent struggle for change in Iran, and showing concern and unity of purpose is good. Still, the best bet for our government is to heed the advice of Iran's civil society until we can redefine the wounded U.S.-Iran relationship through sorely needed trust-building. The belief that America can listen to Iranians within Iran, rather than add to a laundry list of demands and punitive actions, can help rescue this relationship.

Americans can further do their part by asking Congress not to continue the policies of overreaction and intimidation during this delicate time. Asking Congress to reconsider new sanctions legislation and ignore those who would see Iran’s present condition as a weakness to be exploited for self-interest is particularly essential. [Ed.: Also concerned activists can contact the White House through this Just Foreign Policy-sponsored action.]

Iranian protestors have gained fierce admiration for their courage. Shirin Ebadi and other activist leaders within Iran have been preparing their people for this moment for years. They deserve our attention now more than ever.

Shervin Boloorian is an Iran policy advisor based in Washington, D.C. for the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Born in Iran, Boloorian recently finished a two-year stint as the Washington representative of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Prior to his work with UCS, he worked as a legislative director for the National Iranian American Council.