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As two young Americans, we question the wisdom of how we have approached the Iranian issue. How do we reach a breakthrough if we limit ourselves to broadening sanctions or the threat of military strikes? 

We have embarked on a downward slope in relations that has been bred by an ongoing cycle of mistrust between our countries’ political leaders. The tragic part of this historical antipathy is that it has hurt the ordinary citizens of both countries. How, then, can we break this cycle, or are we on an irreversible path toward confrontation?

Since we have not found a way to break the impasse over the nuclear issue, we believe the key to overcoming this stalemate is an economic solution, rather than a political one. Broadening sanctions will only marginalize the private sector of Iran. Instead, if we opened the lanes of trade to present the Iranian people with alternatives to our current policy, we will be benefiting each of our nations and break the barriers of miscommunication that has characterized our relations. 

This approach will take imagination and a willingness to strip ourselves of preconceived notions that we may have of each other. Let’s look beyond the nuclear standoff for a moment and analyze the benefits that industries like our high-tech and alternative energy sector could bring. Here are a few examples:... >>>