Iran, Israel and the United States
Trita Parsi—president of NIAC in an interview with reza Firouzbakht on the future of Iran, Israel and the US:
…it is important to note that a peaceful solution is possible, precisely because of the fact that the Israeli-Iranian rivalry has strategic roots. Had the conflict been driven by ideological factors, then it would have been a zero-sum game that inevitably would lead to the victory of one over the other. But since the conflict is strategic in nature, win-win solutions are possible and it is resolvable. In essence, all three states need to grant the others a minimum level of recognition in order for any sustainable solution to be found. The US must recognize that Iran is a regional powerhouse and that a stable Middle East cannot be achieved without Iran. Israel must recognize that its policy of a strategic edge - the idea that Israel must maintain military hegemony over the region to secure its existence - is unnecessarily putting itself on collision course with states like Iran that have regional leadership aspirations. It is difficult to imagine Iran - under any leadership - accepting to live under Israeli military hegemony. And of course, Iran must accept that the US is the world’s sole superpower and that the existence of Israel is a fact in the region.
Getting to this point won’t be easy, of course. And it will be impossible to reach it without a tremendous amount of diplomacy. Unfortunately, neither Iranian, Israeli nor American foreign policy is currently characterized by diplomacy.
Irancove @ December 11, 2007