‘Damaged foreign policy’ one of Iran’s oldest wounds, political analyst says

Talking to ILNA News Agency, Sasan Karimi from the Faculty of World Studies at the University of Tehran emphasized that “Iran’s society is deeply wounded, with one of the oldest and most severe injuries being its foreign policy issues, which no one in the society can deny.”

Addressing the National Dialogue Conference on Consensus, Karimi underlined the strategic importance of consensus in government policies

He emphasized that such consensus should benefit the country in the long term, rather than focusing solely on immediate public welfare.

He argued that short-term perspectives have led to current imbalances across different domains and stressed the need for a strategic approach that considers both present and future generations.

Reflecting on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, Karimi mentioned that the Iranian people supported it twice, in 2013 and 2017, due to its potential to bring welfare and hope.

However, he pointed out that the lack of internal consensus undermined the agreement, affecting national investment, trust, and leading to issues like brain drain and migration.

Professor Karimi also noted Iran has been in a security dilemma for two decades, exacerbated by external adversaries and internal mistakes.