Iran-US talks give foes rare window into another world

Iran and US have not had diplomatic ties for more than three decades, yet over the past 20 months they have likely sat down together more often than any other nations on Earth.
The sustained pace and intensity of the nuclear negotiations between Iran -- an Islamic clerical theocracy -- and the United States which prides itself on its constitutional freedoms, is all the more astonishing given the old enmities under the surface.

Only last week shouts of "Death to America" rang out in the Iranian parliament, while Washington issued yet another indictment of Tehran's failure to improve human rights, after also reaffirming its conviction that Iran is the top state sponsor of global terror attacks.

Driven on the one side by a desire to eradicate the dangers posed by a nuclear-armed Iran, and on the other by the need to lift crippling economic sanctions, the two sides despite the odds have stayed at the negotiating table.

A senior US official acknowledged the talks were "staggeringly consequential" and would have a huge impact not just for America's security but also for the Middle East region and the world.

"Everybody who's involved in this negotiation understands and quite frankly feels the burden of the responsibility of what we're doing," the official said, asking not to be named.

- Growing rapport -

But the lengthy negotiations have also provided each country with valuable insights into the personalities, thinking and ideologies guiding the other side after more than 30 years of almost no contact.

Indeed for all diplomatic and consular business inside Iran, the Americans are still dependent on the Swiss embassy, which acts as a go-between for the two nations.
Yet over the many months of talks, huddled in hotel rooms around the world, the teams have got to know each other well, building a surprising intimacy.

They have marked birthdays and offered condolences at the loss of family members. They have broken bread on many occasions, shared greetings for festivities such as Ramadan and commiserated over broken limbs and hospital stays.

Little wonder, that wary US allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia fear the rapport Washington is building with Iran may embolden the Shiite Islamic leadership already seeking to impose its influence in a turbulent Middle East.

Ties between the two nations were snapped in the wake of the 1979-1980 hostage crisis, when radical Iranian students held 52 American diplomats and citizens for 444 days in the US embassy in the Tehran.

The events left deep scars on the American psyche and blighted the presidency of Jimmy Carter.

Despite a historic 2013 phone call between US President Barack Obama and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, analysts remain skeptical the talks will lead to a broader rapprochement.

US Secretary of State John Kerry "naturally wants to leave a major foreign policy legacy of reconciliation, whereas Iran's supreme leader... he's always prided himself on a legacy of resistance, especially vis-à-vis the United States," said Karim Sadjadpour, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

- Overcoming critics -

Both Iranian and US teams have also met sharp criticism at home for daring to walk into the lion's den with their long-time foe.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has come under attack from hardliners, while Kerry and the Obama administration has had to fend off antsy Republicans waiting to slap new sanctions on Iran.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Tuesday gave his blessing to Zarif and his team, tweeting a picture of them with the English message "I recognise our negotiators as trustworthy, committed, brave and faithful."

Both countries have also been at pains to stress their talks are solely confined to the nuclear dossier -- although American officials have acknowledged raising both American prisoners held in Iran and conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen on the sidelines.

"Negotiations with the United States are on the nuclear issue and nothing else," Khamenei said in April.

But he added "if the other side abandons its twisted approach, we can perhaps try this experience again for other issues."

"We have between the United States and Iran decades of enmity and mistrust," a senior US administration official said Monday.

"That's very tough, and making this decision to actually do the joint comprehensive plan of action is a very, very, very big decision for everybody."