USAHEngage Hales Release of Atlantic Council Report

Thinking Beyond the Stalemate' Offers New Insight into U.S.-Iranian Relations

Washington, D.C.--USAHEngage and the National Foreign Trade Council hale the release of a new Atlantic Council report, Thinking Beyond the Stalemate in U.S.-Iranian Relations.   

The report represents three years of study by a distinguished working group, led by former Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton, former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger. Acting as analysts, not as advocates, the working group synthesized the many complex issues in the U.S. Iran relationship into a comprehensive approach.

"If we intend to move beyond the stalemate, both sides of the debate should take a serious look at the conclusions of this report," said Bill Reinsch, President of the National Foreign Trade Council and Co-chairman of USAHEngage. "If true democratic change is to take place in Iran, a new approach, like the one recommended in this report, would enable the U.S. to pursue that goal more effectively than with the policies in place today."

The current stalemate between the United States and Iran, while emotionally satisfying to some Americans, does not serve overall U.S. interests, according to the report. It hinders the achievement of several key U.S. interests, including regional stability, energy security, and the evolving geopolitical relationships between the United States, China and Russia in the Persian Gulf and Caspian basin, the report stated.

Thinking Beyond the Stalemate offers a five-phase plan of action, which includes the following steps, among others: