On July 14th 2015, the USA and Iran agreed on a deal which lays out the agreed limits on the Iranian Nuclear programme, and its close monitoring, in exchange for the lifting of some crippling trade sanctions from the USA and EU.
In a tweet Hassan Rouhani, The President of Iran, said “We did not expect #IranDeal to come easily. Extensive negotiations in light of mutual respect & win-win mentality were absolutely crucial”.
This negotiation was incredibly sensitive with the proud people of Iran falling on a pro-deal or anti-deal side. The Ayatollah became adept at issuing a number of non-committal statements to avoid any uprising, and yet at the same time gave confidence to the external negotiators looking to keep momentum behind any deal.
But what does Hassan Rouhani mean by win-win mentality? As with any win-win negotiation they had to understand this was not going to be a like-for-like comparative deal. Over the 23 months of negotiating both sides would have to arrive at the table completely open minded to their counterparty’s demands. This would enable them to get inside each other’s heads to understand each other’s interests, asking themselves, why?
From Iran’s side the questions pile up. Why 15 years? Why reduce our centrifuge capacity from 19,000 to 6,104? What does that mean to them? What control are they trying to take by doing this? Why reduce the Fordow underground enrichment plant centrifuges by two thirds?
And then an assessment. If we agree to these terms and the other terms that have been agreed, what can we get in return? How important would it be to our economic growth that certain sanctions be cancelled rather than just suspended? How important is the EU oil embargo to our industry? And so on…
When both sides seek to understand the interests of the other, and to align value with every trade, then Hassan Rouhani is correct - a win-win can be found. Twenty three months in negotiations highlights that it can also take time to get there.