US envoy says Washington remains ready to talk with Tehran
Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and the president’s special envoy for Syria and Iraq, said Washington is seeking to reach a peaceful agreement with Iran and that US President Donald Trump remains ready to hold talks with Tehran.
Speaking at the Global Security Forum in Doha, Qatar, he pointed to the deep mistrust between the United States and Iran, described as one of the main obstacles to progress in the negotiations, and said diplomatic efforts mediated by Qatar, Oman, Pakistan and Switzerland are continuing to ease tensions.
The US envoy suggested that a revised version of the Islamabad understanding could form the basis for resuming negotiations, including a ceasefire, the reopening of sea routes and a reduction in economic pressure on Iran.
Barrack also stressed that decisions on Iran’s political future should be made by the Iranian people and not through externally imposed regime change.
Referring to the history of US military interventions in the Middle East and the failure of efforts to change governments, he said Washington has intervened in 23 cases in the region to change regimes, but these actions have not produced the desired results.
In response to a question about assessing US and Israeli military operations against Iran, Barrack said he could not say whether these wars were a mistake or not.
The US special envoy claimed the Trump administration’s initial aim in launching military operations against Iran was to confront what was described as an imminent nuclear threat, not to seek regime change in Iran.
He described the situation created by the war in the region as “horrific” and said the US government does not want the fighting to continue.
