The United States is seeking to negotiate a treaty with Iran, aiming to address Tehran's ballistic missile program and its regional behavior, the U.S. special envoy for Iran said Wednesday ahead of U.N. meetings in New York next week.
Iran has rejected U.S. attempts to hold high-level talks since President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers earlier this year.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listed a dozen demands in May that he said could make up a new agreement, although Hook's reference to a treaty, which would have to be approved by the U.S. Senate, appears to be a new focus.
"The new deal that we hope to be able to sign with Iran will not be a personal agreement between two governments like the last one. We seek a treaty," envoy Brian Hook told an audience at the Hudson Institute think tank.
Among Pompeo's demands was the release of Americans jailed by Tehran, an end to Iran's nuclear and missile programs and for Iran to withdraw its forces from Syria and Yemen and end its financial support of sides in those conflicts.
But Hook acknowledged Iranian leaders have not been interested in talks despite statements by Trump this year that the administration was willing to meet.
The 2015 deal was an executive agreement that was not ratified by the U.S. Senate. It covered only Iran's nuclear program.
A U.S. treaty would require approval by the Senate.
Some opponents of the nuclear agreement have argued that former U.S. President Barack Obama, who spearheaded the nuclear deal efforts, allowed Trump to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement by failing to seek Senate approval for the deal when it was reached.
"They did not have the votes in the U.S. Senate so they found the votes in the U.N. Security Council. That is insufficient in our system of government if you want to have something enduring and sustainable," Hook said, adding that Washington hoped recently re-imposed U.S. sanctions would force Tehran to negotiate.
Iran views the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement as an act of bad faith and has long blamed Washington for stoking instability in the Middle East. It has said Trump's offer to negotiate contradicts his actions and accused Washington of trying to unseat the current regime.
Trump will chair a session on Iran during the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York next week. In July, Trump said he was willing to meet Iran's leaders "anytime they want" prompting speculation that a meeting might take place at the U.N. next week.
"The ayatollah [Ali Khamenei], the president [Hassan Rouhani] and foreign minister [Mohammad Javad Zarif] have all indicated they are not interested in talking," Hook said.
"We respect that though that does not change our plans. We have a sanctions regime that is underway, stronger measures are yet to come," he added.
Hook said the administration was expanding its diplomatic efforts to ensure that purchases of Iranian oil are drastically reduced by Nov. 4 when Washington reimposes oil sanctions against Tehran.
Hook said Iran posed an international threat to peace and security that went beyond the six world powers that were involved in the original nuclear deal. However, European and Asian countries have been trying to salvage the nuclear deal despite new U.S. sanctions against Tehran.
"If we want to have a stable and prosperous Middle East, it starts with constraining Iran," Hook said.
