Iran ready for dialogue with US?

By Dr Mohammed Zahid- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he would welcome talks with the US as long as they were based on "mutual respect". Speaking on the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran, he said Iran would welcome change from the US as long as it was "fundamental".



"The new US administration has announced that they want to produce change and pursue the course of dialogue. It is quite clear that real change must be fundamental and not tactical. It is clear the Iranian nation welcomes real changes and is ready for dialogue in a climate of equality and mutual respect" Mr Ahmadinejad said at a rally in central Tehran attended by tens of thousands of people.

Ahmadinejad's remarks come a day after US President Barack Obama said he was looking for "openings that can be created where we can start sitting across the table face-to-face".

"I think there's the possibility, at least, of a relationship of mutual respect and progress," Mr Obama said, but "it's time now for Iran to send some signals that it wants to act differently."

In forming political angles, one needs to have understanding of reality (ie what has happened, what is happening, whose doing what, whose said what and son on. Once this is understood we can form a political perspective on the possibility of US and Iranian rapproachment or dialogue.

Since 9/11, Iran has been a pariah state, portrayed as a sponsor of terrorism and nuclear proliferation. This has allowed the US to secure many interests in the region like increasing its military presence in the gulf, selling multi billion dollar agreements to the gulf states, dividin the region along shia-sunni lines to prevent any real sense of unity and also to blame iran for the failure of its policy in iraq.

Now with the new American President Obama, one hears of dialogue with iran, the question arises why?

An understanding of reality will allow a judgement to be made on this- The US is facing an economic crisis, problems in iraq and wants to escalate conflict in afghanistan and pakistan. It realises Iran can be a useful actor in bringing stability in afghanistan and iraq- taking all of this into consideration one is able to understand US policy towards Iran, the US is still seeking its interests but through the use of iran rather than the isolation of iran as one saw under Bush.

For the Iranians, discussion is good with the US, as it realises the US needs it and discussion will allow it to get concessions such as regime guarantees, such as what one saw in North korea and its nuclear programme. The Iranian regime has always puts its own interests before anything else, and with Obama talking about rapproachment one will see the Iranian political elite jump at the chance to improve its own regime survival and the upcoming elections in Iran. Possibly april will determine the make up of the regime and its posture towards the US, especially if khatami, the darling of the US is allowed to stand for the presidency by the clerical hierachy in Iran.