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Things going on behind the scenes with Iran
The Iranian regimeâs number two man offered the United States an olive branch "provided that Washington quits its imperialist and hegemonic policies and shows good will". Trouble is, they've always been pretty tetchy in their definition of "hegemonistic behavior"... "If America drops its bullying as well as its imperialist policies, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to co-operate with that country", former Iranian president Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Friday during the weekly prayers. I'd call that significant, too. Rafsanjani's usually consistently vitriolic... Since Iranian press and lawmakers revealed that Tehran and Washington were in secret talks studying best ways and means of normalising relations, this is the first time that Iranâs most powerful man after the leader brands an olive branch to the United States. "Iran is not pursuing an adventurist policy against America and if that country shows good will and treats other countries on an equal footing, Iran is ... ready for any kind of co-operation with America", Rafsanjani added. Rafsanjani had dispatched a team, led by a former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, to Cyprus to meet American officials there. It was after these divulgations, confirmed by influential lawmakers, that Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the leader of the Iranian regime imposed a black out on the press on any article, comment or opinions concerning Iran-American talks. So speculation about the talks is blacked out. I'd not trust them too deeply, but obviously all is not as it seems... Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-06-25 |
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