LSU
04-05-2007, 08:33 PM
If you called this article a lib spin job...I'm not sure I'd argue much...
A more pragmatic Iran???
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070405/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_willing_to_compromise&printer=1;_ylt=AmIWG35iAu1w7qnb5u9k_YgUewgF
Analysis: Hope for more Iran compromises
By SALLY BUZBEE, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 40 minutes ago
Iran's abrupt release of 15 British sailors and marines is raising hopes the country might compromise on other disputes, most notably its nuclear program.
The move points to the growing influence of pragmatic conservatives, a faction that backs Iran's Islamic clerical leadership but is still willing to deal with the West — at least to ensure that the country is not harmed in its confrontations with the U.S. and its allies.
British media credited the breakthrough to Ali Larijani, Iran's top foreign policy negotiator who leads its diplomatic efforts in dealing with a demand by the West for a freeze in Iranian uranium enrichment.
While a religious conservative, Larijani is seen as a pragmatist with close ties to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He and his allies, including former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, are less anti-Western than Iran's hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The pragmatists also worry about the populism of Ahmadinejad and his backers that includes calls to redistribute wealth within Iran. Rafsanjani is a multimillionaire, and much recent criticism of Ahmadinejad by Iranian conservatives has centered on fears his strident rhetoric could hurt Iran's economy and the status quo.
Yet if Larijani and his allies led the way in ending the faceoff with Britain, Ahmadinejad's featured role during the release of the naval team seemed to indicate he was not completely brushed aside.
It is the struggle between hard-liners and pragmatists in the Islamic Republic that could give optimism only a brief life: As Iran headed back into talks with Europe on its nuclear program Thursday, it already was warning of retaliation if the West pushed too hard.
The mixed signals put the spotlight on a key conundrum about Iran — the question of who really calls the shots.
Iran's supreme leader, Khamenei, is believed to play the key role of stepping in to forge a decision when various factions can't agree, but what is not understood is when, or in what disputes, he steps in.
Ahmadinejad was the one to announce the Britons' release Wednesday, grinning for TV cameras as he later shook their hands.
But British media quoted British officials as saying little headway was made in the dispute over the capture of the Royal Navy team by Iran's Revolutionary Guards until Larijani suggested in a TV interview this week that Tehran wanted a diplomatic solution.
Larijani, a former Revolutionary Guards officer who speaks English, is considered a key rival to the president, whose comments questioning the Holocaust and calling for Israel to be "wiped from the map" have enraged the world — and even brought criticism from within Iran.
All that points to Iran's pragmatists gaining strength over ultra-hardline radicals, said Jon Alterman, a Mideast specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"The release of the soldiers without a show trial or some dramatic retreat from the British suggests to me that the conservative voices triumphed" over hard-liners, Alterman said.
Still, even as Ahmadinejad released the Britons, he warned sharply that Iran would retaliate if the U.N. Security Council continued with sanctions targeted at curbing the Iranian nuclear program.
A key factor is that all Iranian factions pledge strong support for the nuclear program. And none of Iran's current leaders can be called moderate.
Ahmadinejad and his backers combine anti-Western ideology and strong Islamic conservatism. Larijani and his allies are also conservative, religious and strong supporters of the Revolutionary Guard, even if they are slightly less anti-Western.
That means tough bargaining over the nuclear program, and Western charges that Iranians are helping some of the violent groups in neighboring Iraq and supporting Islamic extremists elsewhere in the Middle East.
Iran clearly wants to engage the United States and the rest of the West, and it is likely to meet "flexibility with pragmatism," said Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh, two Iran experts with close ties to the country.
But so far, fearing that Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons, the United States and other governments remain adamant that Tehran must curb the nuclear program before any talks can begin on broader issues.
That seems to provide little room for diplomatic breakthroughs as along as the Iranians show a united front.
A more pragmatic Iran???
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070405/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_willing_to_compromise&printer=1;_ylt=AmIWG35iAu1w7qnb5u9k_YgUewgF
Analysis: Hope for more Iran compromises
By SALLY BUZBEE, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 40 minutes ago
Iran's abrupt release of 15 British sailors and marines is raising hopes the country might compromise on other disputes, most notably its nuclear program.
The move points to the growing influence of pragmatic conservatives, a faction that backs Iran's Islamic clerical leadership but is still willing to deal with the West — at least to ensure that the country is not harmed in its confrontations with the U.S. and its allies.
British media credited the breakthrough to Ali Larijani, Iran's top foreign policy negotiator who leads its diplomatic efforts in dealing with a demand by the West for a freeze in Iranian uranium enrichment.
While a religious conservative, Larijani is seen as a pragmatist with close ties to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He and his allies, including former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, are less anti-Western than Iran's hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The pragmatists also worry about the populism of Ahmadinejad and his backers that includes calls to redistribute wealth within Iran. Rafsanjani is a multimillionaire, and much recent criticism of Ahmadinejad by Iranian conservatives has centered on fears his strident rhetoric could hurt Iran's economy and the status quo.
Yet if Larijani and his allies led the way in ending the faceoff with Britain, Ahmadinejad's featured role during the release of the naval team seemed to indicate he was not completely brushed aside.
It is the struggle between hard-liners and pragmatists in the Islamic Republic that could give optimism only a brief life: As Iran headed back into talks with Europe on its nuclear program Thursday, it already was warning of retaliation if the West pushed too hard.
The mixed signals put the spotlight on a key conundrum about Iran — the question of who really calls the shots.
Iran's supreme leader, Khamenei, is believed to play the key role of stepping in to forge a decision when various factions can't agree, but what is not understood is when, or in what disputes, he steps in.
Ahmadinejad was the one to announce the Britons' release Wednesday, grinning for TV cameras as he later shook their hands.
But British media quoted British officials as saying little headway was made in the dispute over the capture of the Royal Navy team by Iran's Revolutionary Guards until Larijani suggested in a TV interview this week that Tehran wanted a diplomatic solution.
Larijani, a former Revolutionary Guards officer who speaks English, is considered a key rival to the president, whose comments questioning the Holocaust and calling for Israel to be "wiped from the map" have enraged the world — and even brought criticism from within Iran.
All that points to Iran's pragmatists gaining strength over ultra-hardline radicals, said Jon Alterman, a Mideast specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"The release of the soldiers without a show trial or some dramatic retreat from the British suggests to me that the conservative voices triumphed" over hard-liners, Alterman said.
Still, even as Ahmadinejad released the Britons, he warned sharply that Iran would retaliate if the U.N. Security Council continued with sanctions targeted at curbing the Iranian nuclear program.
A key factor is that all Iranian factions pledge strong support for the nuclear program. And none of Iran's current leaders can be called moderate.
Ahmadinejad and his backers combine anti-Western ideology and strong Islamic conservatism. Larijani and his allies are also conservative, religious and strong supporters of the Revolutionary Guard, even if they are slightly less anti-Western.
That means tough bargaining over the nuclear program, and Western charges that Iranians are helping some of the violent groups in neighboring Iraq and supporting Islamic extremists elsewhere in the Middle East.
Iran clearly wants to engage the United States and the rest of the West, and it is likely to meet "flexibility with pragmatism," said Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh, two Iran experts with close ties to the country.
But so far, fearing that Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons, the United States and other governments remain adamant that Tehran must curb the nuclear program before any talks can begin on broader issues.
That seems to provide little room for diplomatic breakthroughs as along as the Iranians show a united front.