TEHRAN – Professor Paul Pillar, a former deputy chief of counter-terrorism at the CIA, says “President Rouhani probably seeks foreign relations and economic relations for Iran that go in all directions, with Iran being able to do all sorts of business with whomever it wants.”

“He does not want Iran to be dependent on any one outside power,” Pillar says in an exclusive interview with the Tehran Times.
Following is the text of the interview with Paul Pillar:
Q: What are the importance of President Hassan Rouhani’s trips to Italy and France?
A: The trip marks a major move toward more normal political and economic relations between Iran and Europe, made possible by the agreement that limits Iran's nuclear program. The deals signed during the trip move Iranian-European relations at least partly back to where they were before the imposition of major nuclear-related sanctions. Perhaps the most important effect of the trip, for Rouhani as well as for Iran, is to demonstrate to the Iranian public that the nuclear agreement really is having some follow-up consequences that can help to repair the Iranian economy.-
Q: Some argue that the visits to Italy and France indicate that Rouhani looks to the West rather than the East. Do you agree with such a view?
A: President Rouhani probably seeks foreign relations and economic relations for Iran that go in all directions, with Iran being able to do all sorts of business with whomever it wants. He does not want Iran to be dependent on any one outside power. An all-azimuths foreign policy would be a mark of Iran successfully getting out of isolation. If there appears to be more of an orientation to the West, it is because that is where the most economically beneficial deals are to be made.
Q: Mr. Pillar, let’s turn to Saudi Arabia’ radical moves against Iran. Are these moves because officials in Riyadh think that the balance of power in the Middle East is changing in favor of Iran?
A: The perception that, in the wake of sanctions relief related to the nuclear agreement, the regional balance of power has moved somewhat in favor of Iran probably is part of Saudi thinking. Another factor is the change in leadership a year ago in Saudi Arabia. King Salman and his son Mohammed bin Salman have been taking a more active and aggressive approach toward regional issues than did the previous king.
Q: Mr. Pillar, some experts argue that the U.S. wants its allies to assume a more active role in the Persian Gulf. So, is there any connection between a plan by Turkey to establish a military base in Qatar and the U.S. pivot to Asia? What is the purpose behind such security arrangements?
A: The United States certainly would like regional states, including Turkey, to be more active in various ways in the Middle East, but for the most part the focus in that regard is much more on Syria than on the Persian Gulf. Turkey has its own reasons to want to expand its influence throughout the Middle East, including the Persian Gulf, but U.S. decision-makers probably are not thinking in terms of Turkey substituting for the United States in the Gulf. Despite all the previous talk about pivoting to Asia, the United States will continue to have a significant presence in the Persian Gulf. The emphasis will continue to be on deterring and containing Iran. Farther in the future there might be collective security arrangements in the Gulf in which Iran would play a larger role in cooperation with the United States, but for now the political climates in both Washington and Tehran will not permit much movement in that direction.