How ‘othering’ Iranians leads to bad policy
You don’t realize how demonization – in the media and in politics – has poisoned the relationship until you step back and look at the history.
Dr. Assal Rad graduated with a PhD in Middle Eastern History from the University of California, Irvine in 2018. Her PhD research focused on Modern Iran, with an emphasis on national identity formation and identity in post-revolutionary Iran. Assal joined the National Iranian American Council as a Research Fellow in January 2019. She has written for publications including Newsweek, The Hill, and The National Interest, and appeared as a contributor on BBC World, Al Jazeera, and NPR.
You don’t realize how demonization – in the media and in politics – has poisoned the relationship until you step back and look at the history.
Sanctions like those imposed on Cuba fail to achieve their stated policy objectives and create misery for millions of innocent people.
But they’re wrong and after decades of failed sanctions to bring the regime to heel, it’s time for ‘maximum diplomacy.’
Opponents of diplomacy will be pushing for Biden to squeeze more out of Iran before returning to the deal; it won’t work.