Fars (Persepolis) was
the official capital of the Persian Empire, built in the time of Cyrus
the Great, around 560 B.C.E. A farce is also a comedy. Iranian President
Hasan Rouhani's speech at the U.N. was able to link the two.
The Iranian farce
enjoys a steady audience that takes it seriously. Even U.S. President
Barack Obama is changing his tone toward Iran. Obama is choosing, once
more, to give diplomacy a chance. And again -- just as he did five years
ago -- he made that peculiar link between the Palestinian issue and the
nuclear threat, even though reality has proven that the two are not
connected.
In his speech, Obama
instructed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to pursue dialogue with
Iran. The foreign ministers of the six world powers are scheduled to
meet with the Iranian foreign minister on Thursday. This time, we will
not witness the impromptu handshake we saw between Secretary of State
Colin Powell and his Iranian counterpart at the General Assembly in 2001
-- this time the handshake will be official.
Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with the foreign ministers of Italy,
Britain and the Netherlands on Wednesday, as well as with EU foreign
policy chief Catherine Ashton, who was very excited about the Iranian
minister's "energy and tenacity." This is the same Ashton who was
equally excited by Zarif's predecessor, Saeed Jalili, and who has been
heading the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West since October
2009. The last meeting took place in April, in Kazakhstan. Only Borat
was missing to make the farce official. But the Americans are
enthusiastic.
Obama's speech at the
U.N. was less than exciting. Reality has proven to him and us both that
pretty words do not change the world. Obama, by the way, stated that he
does not believe that "America or any nation should determine who will
lead Syria." The Egyptian delegation to the General Assembly in New York
must have been sorry that he did not think the same about Egypt.
Obama has a far less
romantic view of the Middle East these days and he is hoping that Iran,
off all things, will keep him from being a lame duck until his second
term in office is over. Obama needs to show that he has accomplished
something -- just like Rouhani, who wishes to see the sanctions lifted.
It is no wonder that the Iranian courtship of the U.S. is working.
Iran has been given an
American line of diplomatic credit. Is it because Rouhani has admitted
that Tehran will continue to pursue its nuclear program? Is it because
just like his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he claims that the
nuclear program is peaceful?
American political commentator
Charles Krauthammer noted recently that in his Washington Post op-ed,
Rouhani stressed the "culture of peace" promoted by Iran -- the same
Iran that has an official "Death to America Day." The children of Iran
need not worry -- it does not look like the day off they get on that day
it will be voided any time soon. The ayatollahs' Iran will not part
with the "Great Satan" -- or with its nuclear program -- easily.
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