from AZADEH AKBAR in Tehran, Iran
Special contributor
TEHRAN, (CAJ News) – ECONOMOST Professor Jeffrey Sachs has delivered a blistering critique of United States policy towards Iran, arguing that diplomacy has become impossible because Iranian negotiators have repeatedly faced lethal attacks while peace efforts were under way.
His comments come as Iran continues to reject direct negotiations with Washington, insisting that any future contacts must be conducted through intermediaries.
Sachs contends that each round of negotiations has been overshadowed by attempts to eliminate senior Iranian figures, destroying confidence in Washington’s willingness to pursue a genuine diplomatic settlement.
He argues that no meaningful agreement can emerge when one side believes its negotiators may become military targets rather than diplomatic counterparts.
His assessment reflects a broader debate over whether military pressure and diplomacy can realistically proceed in parallel.
The latest crisis began on 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran while diplomatic contacts were still under way.
The strikes were planned well before the negotiations concluded, fuelling accusations that diplomacy had become merely a cover for military action.
Among those reported killed were Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s highest political and religious authority since 1989; Ali Shamkhani, a veteran statesman who had served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and remained one of Tehran’s most influential strategic advisers; and Major General Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, responsible for overseeing Iran’s elite military forces. Their deaths represented an unprecedented blow to Iran’s political and military leadership.
Sachs argues that these developments explain Tehran’s refusal to engage directly with Washington.
In his view, negotiations cannot succeed where trust has collapsed entirely.
Instead, he advocates a unilateral American withdrawal from the conflict, urging Washington to halt air strikes, abandon efforts to reshape the region through force, and allow Middle Eastern states to establish their own security arrangements without external intervention.
The United States and Israel have maintained that military action is necessary to counter Iranian security threats and regional influence, while Iran insists it seeks stability through regional diplomacy.
As fighting continues despite intermittent ceasefire efforts, Sachs’ intervention underscores a central question confronting policymakers: whether lasting peace can be achieved when negotiations and military operations occur simultaneously, or whether such a strategy inevitably destroys the trust upon which diplomacy depends.
– CAJ News