It has been quite some time since western powers realised that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the country's most powerful man. Although he was opposed to direct negotiations with the United States for a long time, in a speech on 21 March Khamenei said that if Iran's [nuclear] rights are recognised, "I will not oppose negotiations with the United States." This was a positive step forward.

In the same speech Khamenei said that the US had no desire to resolve the most important dispute with Iran, namely, the nuclear standoff, although a solution would be "very easy." How would it come about? "By the west's recognition of Iran's right to uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes." The concerns of western powers can also be addressed "very easily" Khamenei added. How? "They [and Iran] can implement the legal regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency [governing nuclear programmes], which we never opposed right from the beginning."

But the US, according to him, had no desire for a resolution. Khamenei believes that the US goal is regime change, and although President Obama claims this is not the strategy, he has been pursuing it in practice. Khamenei's view is that the goal of the economic sanctions imposed on Iran is to create severe hardship for the Iranian people in order to provoke them to topple the Islamic republic.

Not only has the Obama administration denied Khamenei's charge of regime change, the administration has stated repeatedly that it recognises Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. If that is the case, the only issue to clarify is the meaning of "the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy". Does Obama include the right to enrich uranium, which Iran is entitled to do as a signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty?

What we do know is that Obama has imposed crippling economic sanctions on Iran, which have badly damaged its economy. Harming or destroying the national economy of a country is, first and foremost, punishing the people of that country, not its regime. Hyper-inflation, depriving tens of thousands of people of employment, economic recession, severe shortage of critical medicines and dramatic increases in the price of food items are the price that the Iranian people are paying.

If the goal of sanctions is indeed the overthrow of the regime, the lessons from history are not favourable. The French historian Alexis de Tocqueville showed that the French revolution happened when the economy was growing and was led by those who were doing well economically. The Iranian revolution of 1979 occurred when Iran was experiencing a high rate of economic growth. If the United States's goal is a transition to democracy in Iran, sanctions are forcing the agents of that transition – the middle class – to join the ranks of the poor and lower class, and turning democracy and respect for human rights into marginal goals.

The fact is that the dispute between Iran and the United States cannot be reduced to the standoff over the nuclear issue. Other important problems in which Iran plays a significant role must be addressed as well: the security of Israel and the Persian Gulf, the instability in that region, especially in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain. Addressing such complex problems and reaching agreement requires not only direct negotiations between Iran and the United States, but also a comprehensive framework that takes all such problems into consideration. Thus, each side must recognise the legitimate interests of the other.

It is also against the national interests of the US to demonise Iran. Iran is not a breeding ground for the Taliban, al-Qaida or the al-Nusra Front, the terrorist group in Syria. Such ideals as freedom, democracy and respect for human rights have deep roots in Iran. Feminists are highly active in Iranian society. All the prerequisites for a transition to democracy exist in Iran. The majority of Iranian people do not subscribe to anti-westernism or anti-Americanism. If free and competitive elections were held in Iran, the secular democratic forces would definitely win.

In the most recent presidential election, the Iranian people voted for the candidate who was most distant from the one considered to be Khamenei's favourite. This candidate, Hassan Rouhani, seeks a peaceful resolution of the dispute between Iran and western governments and wants direct negotiations with the United States.

In the inaugural speech Rouhani delivered on 3 August in Khamenei's presence, he re-emphasised his commitment to working with western governments. Ayatollah Khamenei in turn declared: "I approve the views expressed by the esteemed president in regard to adopting a reasonable approach to international and political affairs worldwide. Our approach ought to be rational and wise."

Thus, the path for negotiations between Iran and the US is cleared, provided the national interests of both sides are taken into account.