Marie Harf: We continue to pressure Iran on human rights

Radio Farda has interviewed Marie Harf, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State for Strategic Communications, regarding President Barack Obama's remarks at the United Nations. In his speech at the UN General Assembly, the President emphasized the use of diplomacy to resolve regional issues and international crises, such as the Syrian crisis, the South China Sea disputes, and the Ukraine crisis. Can you elaborate on this new perspective of the U.S. government? I think you heard the President state that we are living in a very complex world today and facing challenges in security and humanitarian issues around the globe; however, none of these challenges can be solved solely by the United States, and it would be much easier to address these challenges diplomatically. In this context, he cited the nuclear agreement with Iran as an example. The world united on this issue and solved a security problem through diplomacy, avoiding another war. Similarly, if issues arise next year regarding Syria, Ukraine, or the South China Sea, we will adopt a similar approach. The U.S. President invited all countries to cooperate diplomatically in addressing these challenges, which would be the best way for both the people of these countries and the world. The U.S. President also called on Iran and Russia to cooperate with the U.S. in resolving the Syrian crisis. Does this mean a change in the U.S. attitude and policy regarding the involvement of Iran and Russia in such crises? We have long said we are ready to work with anyone who has influence over the Syrian government and seeks to resolve this issue through the removal of [Bashar] Assad, the destruction of the Islamic State group, and the creation of a better future for the Syrian people. The President was very clear in his remarks. We will talk with the Russians and the Iranians about this. These two governments play a significant role in Syria, but we have stated our principles regarding Syria; this means that [Bashar] Assad should not remain in power, the fight against ISIS should continue, and the transfer of power should be done in a way that guarantees the interests of the Syrian people. You cannot bring the whole country to collapse. In this process, you need a kind of stability for the transition period to pass. In this regard, we are ready to talk with any government, and the U.S. President made this point clear today. Although Mr. Obama emphasized human rights several times in his UN speech, critics say that the United States sacrifices human rights issues in many places to advance diplomacy. Not at all. We believe in human rights and issues related to the security of the people. Governments that deny their people's human rights are unstable and will be safer if they give people the right to vote freely to express their opinions. We discuss this issue with any country like China that has human rights problems. We cooperate with China on many issues, but we always raise [the issue of] human rights with them at any cost and will continue to pressure them on this matter. You heard today that the President spoke about this, including about press freedom and how important this issue is. None of these issues are separate from each other, and therefore we raise them because we believe that all these issues are interconnected. And my last question is, given the historic agreement with Iran on the nuclear issue, do you expect relations between the two governments to improve? You heard the President speak a little about this today. We now have lines of communication. Two years ago, when Mr. Kerry and Mr. Zarif met here, we had not had contact for several decades. We will continue to pressure them on human rights issues and Iran's support for Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations, but now we also have a way to talk, and the President [of the United States] believes that having diplomacy is better than not having it. This is extraordinary. So there is potential for dialogue on issues like Syria that was not available before. We have many issues with the Iranian regime. We will continue to pressure them on human rights issues and Iran's support for Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations, but now we also have a way to talk, and the President [of the United States] believes that having diplomacy is better than not having it. Dialogue with those who oppose us on these issues is necessary and efforts should be made to reach an agreement. He has also repeatedly told Iranian officials that they now have an opportunity for a different relationship. We certainly have not reached that point yet, but you heard him say that the future may take a different shape.