‘NO MODERATES’ -- French President Jacques Chirac once advised George W. Bush: "Don't think there are moderates [in Iran] with whom you can negotiate." The photo shows Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 2 in Tehran visiting the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of his return from exile. (Sipa Photo via Newscom)From The Middle East Times:
This coming week, for an umpteenth time the P-5 plus one –the U.N. permanent five members plus Germany - will meet to talk about Iran and try to adopt a common position. It will be the first time the U.S. Barack Obama administration will take part in the discussions. With an affirmed will of breaking from the precedent administration, the Obama team has a lot at stake. At this point, with Iran inching so much closer to acquiring a nuclear weapon, the next few weeks might be the last chance for a diplomatic solution.
Obama's opening to the Tehran regime has been received quite coldly. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad replied by demanding apologies for the crimes the United States has allegedly committed. He also asked for the U.S. withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan. But that is not all, when it comes to the core issue of Iran's military nuclear program, Aliakbar Javanfekr, a senior aide to Ahmadinejad, stated that Iran had no intention of stopping it.
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My Comment: Former French President Jacques Chirac is right .... there are no moderates in Iran. The most important goal of the Iranian regime is to maintain power. By maintaining power they will maintain their religious supremacy in the country, and be positioned to assert their religious authority within the region.
To attain these goals, the successful completion of their nuclear program becomes paramount. The only nation that can be an obstacle is the U.S. .... hence the willingness to negotiate and discuss terms. But the bottom line has always been the same .... the nuclear program must go on.
And it will go on.