New Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has recently unveiled his desire for closer relations with Latin America. While meeting with Cuban Vice President Cabrisas last week, Rouhani described the need to strengthen ties with Havana as especially important for the economy of both nations. Due to the suspicious nature of the state’s relationship under the Ahmadinejad administration, many U.S. officials are beginning to question the real motive behind Rouhani’s sudden outreach. With two nations reputedly responsible for state-sponsored terrorism, many believe Ahmadinejad’s relationship with Cuba was founded on one underlying principal: ‘fighting the same front’  Cuba has openly supported Iran’s program to develop nuclear technology, dating back to former President Fidel Castro who often spoke of his admiration of Iran’s ability to fight major powers. Returning the favor in a sign of support, Iran has many times publicly denounced U.S. embargo on the island nation.

Rouhani, however, had made clear during his inauguration his intent to open up to the international community in an attempt to resolve the nuclear issue and restore Iran’s economy. The self-proclaimed reformist responded to claims of having ulterior motives by reassuring his country “does not seek war with the world” and will focus on stopping those who do.  Rouhani also took the opportunity to reiterate his previous stance on increased transparency; stating it is the only “key to open the doors of trust” with other nations. According to CNN’s Mariano Castillo, the U.S. finds it rather suspicious that this meeting occurred almost immediately following the recent Panama Canal discovery of a ship carrying undeclared arms from Cuba. Although the origin of the ship was confirmed to be from North Korea, officials believe the timing of the discovery to be much more than simple irony. The multiple common ground factors shared by these three ‘rogue states’ makes for a complicated assessment by the international community on the recent cargo findings. 

It remains difficult to judge the true intentions behind Rouhani’s expansion in Latin America. Thus far, his actions have proven to coincide with his words; for the most part holding true to his progressive objectives. As we have seen in the past, however, things are not always as they may appear and foreign policy agendas have a tendency to change rather quickly. One thing seems certain— if suspicions turn out to be correct; this trilateral alliance could potentially become the United States’ most dangerous national security threat. 

In a recent Washington Post (WP) interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the U.S. to take cautious steps in dealing with Iran’s newly elected leader. He stressed the need for realistic thinking when engaging in talks with Iran about its continuing nuclear program. Although Rowhani is internationally seen as a moderate reformist and has repeatedly declared intentions to reestablish peaceful diplomacy with the West, Netanyahu remains skeptical. He firmly believes Iran can be judged only by its actions, stating, “If it insists on continuing to develop its nuclear program, the answer needs to be clear”. Rowhani has pledged numerous times since his election to uphold the rights of his nation by continuing to develop Iran’s enrichment program within the legal bounds set by the international community. While some may see this as an admirable step toward further transparency, Netanyahu perceives this as an ambiguous admission of guilt that Iran possesses nuclear weapons.

Despite his belief that the election results reflect the Iranian citizens’ desire for change, Netanyahu does not think their voice is loud enough to change their nation’s nuclear ambitions. He made this opinion clear immediately following the election when he told WP’s Lally Weymouth that Israel would accept nothing less than “total cessation of all nuclear enrichment materials by Iran,” regardless of the new administration. Israeli officials postulate that Rowhani was strategically chosen to be a candidate by the Supreme Leader Khamenei to deflect the international community from Iran’s continued nuclear enrichment. Rowhani, a tolerant progressive, was chosen from a slate of candidates whose extremist views all closely aligned with those of the Ayatollah. Netanyahu believes that by calming the nerves of world leaders with Rowhani, Iran is able to steadily move forward with its nuclear program without stirring up controversy. He supports this assumption by citing a speech Rowhani gave in 2004 in which he admitted that even when Iran suspended uranium enrichment, it was able to make the ‘greatest nuclear advancements because the pressure was off’. He went on to boast about the extensive equipment Iran was able to install at a crucial nuclear facility while talking with the Europeans in Tehran. 

Israeli president Shimon Peres has publicly agreed that President Obama’s original commitment to Iran being a non-nuclear weapon state through peaceful means was reasonable. However, he has since reiterated that Obama had the intention of using non-military means without excluding such [military] means if necessary.  Claiming Iran is a danger to both states’ security and existence alike, Peres believes Israel should not bomb Iran’s nuclear program unilaterally. Rather, he believes Israel and the U.S. should work together using combined resources to ensure the future safety of their nations—which he believes is indeed, necessary. Unfortunately, Israel has made explicit its zero-tolerance stance on Iran obtaining any type of nuclear energy, whereas the United States has shown cooperation in allowing Iran to enrich for legitimate means. The lack of accord between these allies has created numerous foreign policy complications in respect to Iran. 

Over this past weekend, Iranians took to the ballots to vote for their new President. Replacing notorious hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani won the election and declared his intentions to rebuild Iran’s relationship with the West. Iran has refused to open its nuclear program to international scrutiny over the past eight years, causing a variety of countries to impose strict sanctions that have hindered the nation’s economy. After comparing Iran’s relations with the U.S. to an “old wound that needs healing,” Rowhani pledged an administration of increased transparency.

However, this is not to say Rowhani favors the nuclear submission or direct negotiations requested by the West. He made it clear in his first news conference immediately following election that “…the next government will not budge from defending our inalienable rights”.  The new President vowed to continue developing the country’s controversial nuclear program within its legal limits to enrich uranium for peaceful energy purposes. Despite Rowhani’s reluctance to cede to the demands of the West, many Iranians see his election as a testament to their desire for reform. If Iran’s negotiating partners come further forward to meet its requests for continued enrichment, an initial confidence-building agreement on the nuclear situation will be possible. Unfortunately, Rowhani’s intentions cannot be entirely clear this early in the game. To further this uncertainty, his intentions may also be limited by Iran’s current power structure that allows the president minimal room for change. Because the underlying authority rests with Supreme Leader Khamenei, Rowhani’s assurances all remain cautious hopefulness. 

A recent post on an English-language Israeli news site outlined Tehran's belief that the US is the true perpetrator of terrorism. A recent US State Department report accused Iran of increasing its support for terrorism, marking it the highest resurgence of violence since the 1990s. Tehran has responded by turning the tables, claiming it has actively engaged in various measures to counter terrorist attacks supported by the US government. For example, Iranian officials cited the recent removal of a terrorist organization, the Mujahadin-e-Khalq, from the US official list of terrorist organizations. This Iranian dissident group has been known to target Iran's Shi'ite Muslim clerical leadership and fought alongside Iraq's Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein in the 1980-88 war with Iran. What guidelines is the US using to justify this group's behavior? Is the US deterred from taking action because this is an Iranian-based group targeting the Islamic Republic as its main target? Tehran argues that the US holds a double standard when it comes to terrorist activity, allegedly designating others as terrorists only when a direct threat toward American people exists.