The US as the main international power and Iran as a key regional power..."Madrid (ANTARA News/IRNA-OANA) - Cooperation between Iran and the United States can help save Syria, former Iranian nuclear negotiator with the West, Seyed Hossein Mousavian said.
In an interview with Spanish La Vanguardia daily newspaper published on Sunday, Mousavian said in the Geneva deal between Iran and the P5+1 on November 24, both sides won.
On one hand, for the first time since the victory of Islamic Revolution in 1979 the western governments recognized Iran's right to enrichment and agreed to ease sanctions on the country which is an achievement for Tehran and improves Iran's international standing, Mousavian said.
On the other hand, Iran agreed to take confidence-building measures and show more transparency over its nuclear program which is seen as a success for the P5+1, he said, expressing hope for a final agreement.
Asked whether Iran and the US would become allies, Mousavian said it is too soon to talk about such a thing, but an ease of tension is possible.
The veteran diplomat and former ambassador to Germany said that the mistrust between Iran and the US is very deep and it takes time for them to normalize relations.
"The US as the main international power and Iran as a key regional power could play an important role to resolve all crises in the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria."
He referred to the Syrian government's acceptance to eradicate chemical weapons in cooperation with the Hague-based Organization Prohibiting Chemical Weapons as an example of cooperation between Iran and the US to help end the humanitarian crisis in Syria.
Iran and the United States successfully cooperated in Afghanistan in 2001 in the war against al-Qaeda, Mousavian said, adding, they can cooperate once again to save Syria as the Syrian ethnic conflict is spreading into Iraq and Lebanon, killing hundreds of innocent people.
Mousavian said that direct talks between the Iranian and US officials and eradication of chemical weapons in Syria were two achievements that he said could not be made without Iran-US cooperation.
He made it clear that more needs to be done to de-escalate tension between Tehran and Washington.
(Uu.H-AK)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
