Should US Vice President Kamala Harris be nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate and win the White House, women's rights and containing Tehran's nuclear weapon program are likely to be key Iran policy points.
Harris has spoken out in support of human rights in IranImage: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/picture alliance
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Following the withdrawal of US President Joe Biden from the US presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris is widely expected to be nominated as the Democrat's candidate in the coming weeks.
If Harris wins the presidency, she is expected to largely stick to Biden's foreign policy script on key issues.
"Harris's policy appears to pursue a conflicted de-escalation with Iran by trying to reach, if not a new nuclear deal, at least a new agreement or understanding that would pause Iran's nuclear weapon development," Arman Mahmoudian, lecturer and international affairs analyst at the University of South Florida in the US, told DW.
"On the other hand, Harris is also interested in developing a new generation of human rights-oriented policies toward Iran, specifically improving women's rights. The combination of these two approaches makes it challenging for her to pursue Iran policy effectively," he added.
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Standing up for women's rights in Iran
As vice president, Harris has met several times with well-known personalities from the Iranian diaspora, including in October 2022 with Iranian-British actress Nazanin Boniadi during the nationwide "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests in Iran.
"The United States continues to stand with the brave women of Iran as they protest peacefully for their fundamental rights and basic human dignity," Harris said in November 2022.
Harris also supported the Iranian women's demand to exclude the Islamic Republic of Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
This commission is the highest UN body for gender equality. Iran's election to this commission outraged women's and human rights activists from the outset.
"International organizations have to take themselves seriously if they want to be taken seriously," Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi told DW in April 2021.
"Kamala Harris could support further demands by Iranian women," added Mohammadi's husband, Taghi Rahmani.
Rahmani, a writer and political journalist, has left Iran and lives with the couple's children in Paris. Mohammadi is in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for her peaceful campaign for human and women's rights in Iran.
"Narges is calling for gender discrimination to be made a criminal offense at an international level. This means that those responsible in countries where women are systematically discriminated against on the basis of their gender should be held accountable by international bodies," said Rahmani.
"Harris could support such a demand if she were to become the first female president of the United States. She could support the women's movement in Iran," he added.
Kamala Harris: A woman of firsts
Kamala Harris, Black and of South Asian descent, is the first woman and first person of color to serve as US vice president. She has broken many glass ceilings — could she also be the first female president of the US?
Image: Tony Avelar/AP/dpa/picture alliance
A family of immigrants
Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California on October 20, 1964. Her father, Donald J. Harris, is a renowned US-Jamaican scientist. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was a noted Indian biomedical scientist who conducted research into breast cancer. This undated photo shows Harris at her mother's lab in Berkeley, California.
After their parents divorced, Kamala Harris (left) and her younger sister, Maya, lived with their mother, moving to Montreal, Canada when Kamala was 12. Gopalan Harris died of cancer in 2009. "She raised us to be proud, strong Black women, and she raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage," said Harris as she accepted the Democratic Party's vice presidential nomination in 2020.
Both of Harris' parents were active in the US civil rights movement, and in her autobiography she wrote that this had a major impact on her own career. In this November 1982 photo, Harris is seen at the age of 18 during her freshman year at Howard University in Washington, taking part in an anti-apartheid demonstration.
Image: Courtesy of Kamala Harris/AFP
Law studies in California
Harris graduated from Howard University in 1986 and went on to study at the Hastings College of the Law at the University of California in San Francisco. In 1990, she began her career as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California.
Image: Avalon/Photoshot/picture alliance
San Francisco's top prosecutor
In 2004, Harris was sworn in as San Francisco's first female district attorney, becoming also the first woman of color to hold the post. When she received the oath of office, her mother (center) held a copy of the US Bill of Rights in her hand. The document comprises the first 10 amendments to the constitution and guarantees personal freedoms and rights and clear limitations on government power.
Image: George Nikitin/AP Photo/picture alliance
From district attorney to attorney general
In January 2011, Harris took on the role of California's attorney general — once again, the first woman and the first person of color in the job. She attracted criticism for her opposition to the death penalty and her support of an anti-truancy program.
Image: Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo/picture alliance
Move into politics
In 2016, Harris decided to run for the California State Senate — and won. She stepped down as attorney general and was sworn in by the outgoing vice president, Joe Biden, in January 2017. Her husband Douglas Emhoff, an entertainment lawyer whom she married in 2014, stood next to her with a Bible in his hand.
Image: Kevin Wolf/AP/dpa/picture alliance
Facing off with Biden
In early 2019, Harris announced she would be seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 election against Donald Trump. She was up against Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (center) and former Vice President Biden, among others. Harris pulled out of the race in December 2019 before the primaries, endorsing Biden in March 2020. He named her as his running mate in August.
Image: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
From rivals to winners
In November 2020, Harris and Biden won the presidential election for the Democrats. They celebrated the historic win in Wilmington, Delaware — wearing face masks in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Image: Andrew Harnik/AP/dpa/picture alliance
Another political first
On January 20, 2021, Harris was sworn in as the first female vice president of the US and the first person of color to hold the post. The ceremony took place under strict security conditions: on January 6, Trump supporters had stormed the US Capitol building insisting that he had won the election.
Image: Rachel Wisniewski/REUTERS
Tasked with tackling migration
One of the first tasks Biden gave Harris was to look into the root causes of migration, primarily from South America. She visited various countries as part of her efforts, including Guatemala in June 2021. The Republican Party has repeatedly criticized Harris for failing to come up with an adequate solution to the thorny issue of illegal migration.
Image: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo/picture alliance
Staunch supporter of Ukraine, NATO
Like Biden, Harris is a strong advocate of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his efforts to defend Ukraine against Russia, describing Russia's actions as "cruel," "horrendous" and "gruesome." At the Munich Security Conference in February 2024, Harris also pledged the US' ongoing support for NATO and international cooperation — a stark contrast to Republican presidential candidate Trump.
Image: TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images
Defender of abortion rights
Harris also differs from the Republican Party when it comes to the issue of abortion. After the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion in June 2022, she launched a campaign for reproductive freedoms — an issue that is particularly important to young voters. Many Republicans want to restrict abortion rights even further.
Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
What are Harris' 2024 chances?
If the Democrats officially choose Harris as presidential candidate in August, she will have about 100 days to select a running mate and run a successful campaign against Trump. She has already received many endorsements and millions in donations since Sunday, and analysts say she could inspire people of color to vote for her. But racist and sexist attitudes could also work against her.
Image: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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Dealing with Iran's perennial nuclear problem
On Iran's nuclear program, Harris has consistently defended the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed with Iran in 2015, and she has considered it a significant achievement of the Democratic Party during Barack Obama's presidency.
The US unilaterally withdrew from this agreement, which was reached after more than 12 years of international negotiations, under former President Donald Trump in 2018. Trump said he was convinced he could negotiate a "better deal" than the one signed by his predecessor Obama.
However, Trump's policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran remained unsuccessful. One year after the US withdrew from the agreement, Iran also began to gradually abandon the commitments it had made. Today, Iran is closer than ever to being able to produce a nuclear bomb.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is interested in de-escalation and easing sanctions pressure, but is strict on not compromising domestic politics, as they fear it might lead to more demands and challenge the government further," said Iran expert Mahmoudian.
Is Iran developing a nuclear weapon?
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Over the past four years, President Biden has tried several times to revive the nuclear agreement with Iran. All these attempts have failed.
"I believe Harris has a chance to reach a new deal or understanding with Iran regarding nuclear policy. However, her path might be even harder than that of President Obama during the JCPOA negotiations for several reasons," added Mahmoudian.
He said the little trust that existed between the US and Iran before the withdrawal from the JCPOA, and the killing of General Qassim Soleimani in 2020, has been "demolished."
Another factor cited by Mahmoudian is that the US Congress is relatively under Republican control, and Iranians might be concerned that Republicans could undermine the deal.
"Harris' diplomatic maneuvers might also be restricted by Congress," he said.
Additionally, Iran's nuclear project and breakout time to a nuclear weapon are much closer and more advanced than during the initial JCPOA implementation, Mahmoudian said.
"The United States needs to bargain for more and ask Iran to make more compromises because Iran's breakout time is shorter. On the other hand, Iranians might feel they have stronger leverage over the Americans and demand higher concessions, making the negotiations quite difficult," he said.
This article was originally written in German and translated by Wesley Rahn.
