Photo: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to his supporters during his visit to Mashhad, 900 km (540 miles) east of Tehran, Iran, on Saturday March 21, 2009. Iran's supreme leader rebuffed President Barack Obama's latest outreach on Saturday, saying Tehran was still waiting to see concrete changes in U.S. policy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was responding to a video message Obama released Friday in which he reached out to Iran on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian new year, and expressed hopes for an improvement in nearly 30 years of strained relations. (AP Photo/ISNA)From Yahoo News/AP:
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Iranian leader's rebuff on Saturday to President Barack Obama's offer for dialogue was swift and sweeping: Words from Washington ring hollow without deep policy changes.
But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's response was more than just a dismissive slap at the outreach. It was a broad lesson in the mind-set of Iran's all-powerful theocracy and how it will dictate the pace and tone of any new steps by Obama to chip away at their nearly 30-year diplomatic freeze.
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My Comment: I had mentioned a few weeks ago that from Iran's point of view, they have nothing to gain and everything to lose if the y should decide to deal with the U.S.. That from their perspective, America is a declining power. The U.S. is retreating from Iraq, losing in Afghanistan, and are at the verge of an economic collapse at home.
With this mindset .... and with no stick but all carrots from the U.S. .... the Iranian regime will not deal unless all of their "impossible" conditions are met.
Their dismissal of President Obama's offer for discussion fits into this perception ... and I am not surprised but their quick response.
The AP reporter says that the Iranians are just playing hardball ... that they will be amicable for an agreement. Sigh .... I have been hearing this from the AP for 30 years .... and like the Iranian theocracy ..... they have both been saying the same thing during all of this time.