Tensions Between Washington and Tehran Continue to Rise

It’s not unusual to hear chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” in Tehran.

This week, though, those chants sound more chilling.

That’s because tensions between Tehran and Washington are rising rapidly.

Iranian leaders blame the US and Israel for the assassination Wednesday of an Iranian nuclear scientist.

American officials, on the other hand, are publicly warning Iran not to cross a couple of “red lines.”

One is the development of nuclear weapons.

The other is blocking the oil shipping lanes at the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Marco Werman talks with Borzou Daragahi, middle east correspondent for the Financial Times, about increasing tensions between the US and Iraq.

Read the Transcript
The text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

Marco Werman: I’m Marco Werman, this is The World. It’s not unusual to hear chants of death to America and death to Israel in Tehran. Today though, those chants sound more ominous. That’s because tensions between Tehran and Washington rose rapidly this week. Iranian leaders blame the US and Israel for the assassination Wednesday of an Iranian nuclear scientist. American officials on the other hand are publicly warning Iran not to cross a couple of red lines; one is the development of nuclear weapons, the other is blocking the oil shipping lanes at the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Borzou Daragahi is a Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times. Borzou, there is so much happening now in Iran, help us sift through it. What are the most important developments in relation to Iran this week?

Borzou Daragahi: I think you went through the very important ones. I think one thing that’s really significant that you didn’t mention is the fact that Iran says that it is now open to restarting talks over its nuclear program. It could show that Iran on the one hand it’s sort of increasing its bluster, and on the other hand it’s genuinely concerned and wants to keep diplomatic options open. We who have been examining Iran closely have always thought that the you know, nuclear program that Iran embarked on was a means for the regime to ensure its own survival. And if at some point the regime decides that the nuclear program is hampering its own survival, then it might change course in some way, but we’ll see over the next few days whether this talk of negotiation is actually genuine.

Werman: I want to get back to the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan. It really couldn’t have come at a worse time in terms of ratcheting up tensions between the US and Iran. Borzou, now that you’ve had a couple of days to think about it, is the assassination significant in itself or does its significance really lie in its timing?

Daragahi: I think the timing is very curious and there are some who have speculated that it could have been the result of someone within the regime or from abroad who wanted to scuttle any chance of reproach, and who wanted to increase tensions between Iran and the west. Maybe they got wind that there was an attempt at a diplomatic settlement and wanted to stop that from happening, perhaps someone in the regime, perhaps someone in another country. I don’t think we’ll ever know, but absolutely, the timing is extremely significant.

Werman: There’s been so much posturing from both sides, the US and Iran, I mean various statements have been made by the US this week about how Iran would cross a major red line if it tried to close the Strait of Hormuz. On the other hand, for example, Iran just sentenced to death an Iranian American whom they accused of spying. Now that you’ve done some sifting for us, Borzou, is it clear to you who the aggressor is?

Daragahi: You know, I think there’s a case of mixed signals here. The Obama administration is working according to one diplomatic playbook and they’re sort of slowly, incrementally ratcheting diplomatic pressure, economic pressure on the Islamic republic in order to obtain the desired result, which is to get them to compromise on their nuclear program. Iran doesn’t see it that way. Iran sees every step in this steady escalation as an affront to a great nation, an insult to its dignity, and sees every single step as a crossing of a red line. And so they see what the Obama administration sees as sort of incremental pressure as an existential threat. And I think these two parties need to get on the phone with each other and sort of explain that to each other.

Werman: The Financial Times’ Borzou Daragahi, thank you very much.

Daragahi: It’s been a pleasure.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.