Washington, DC – Jamal Abdi, President of the National Iranian American Council, issued the following statement on the eve of expected U.S.-Iran negotiations aimed at de-escalating current tensions:
“What is driving the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table after more than half a year is not eagerness to be in the same room, but rather the dire alternatives. War would not be a ‘cake walk’ for the U.S. or a way to restore deterrence for Iran. It would be a bloody, chaotic affair opening a security vacuum in a critical area of the world with no guarantee of what comes next.
“Negotiations are not a panacea for the many challenges that afflict U.S.-Iran relations or the increasingly dire circumstances imposed on ordinary Iranians. But it is a method of solving problems without resorting to violence that would threaten countless innocent people. We have seen the failed promises of military “solutions” throughout the region and it is always our mothers, fathers and children who pay the highest price.
“For their sake, we hope that this latest round of U.S.-Iran negotiations succeeds in de-escalating the current situation, moving away from a path that leads to bombs falling on ordinary Iranians and missiles flying at U.S. bases, and brings some modicum of relief for ordinary Iranians. A better and more peaceful path is still possible, if the U.S. and Iran take it.”
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