Iran sets terms for U.S. ties

Iran sets terms for U.S. ties

www.reuters.com

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has responded to U.S. President Barack Obama's offer of better relations by demanding policy changes from Washington, but the Islamic state is not closing the door to a possible thaw in ties with its old foe.

Iran wants the United States to show concrete change in its behavior toward it, for example by handing back frozen assets, but Tehran is not pursuing "eternal hostility," said Professor Mohammad Marandi at Tehran University.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I dont believe that handing back frozen assets would change anything. Both US and Iran will stand on their positions.
But when i read this story, i see more. Anytime religion is involved in politics, it complicates matters even more. The supreme leader of Iran is a religious authority (the highest)
So, i don't think anything will be accomplished here. It's just a way for Iran to stay "afloat"...

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

What I think is funny is that during the campaign, Obama kept saying that he wants to open a dialoge and meet with Iran "without preconditions."

Guess what, the Iranians won't meet with the US until the US meets certain preconditions. This shows exactly how niave, inexperianced, and stupid the current administration is.

Now before you all start saying that Bush was this or that, I am not saying the last administration was any better, but Obama is a ZERO.

Originally posted by finemanm
What I think is funny is that during the campaign, Obama kept saying that he wants to open a dialoge and meet with Iran "without preconditions."

I suppose it's just a political stunt for Obama. My insights of the future are not very good concerning the present president. He will make bad decisions, and those decisions will create even more chaos around the planet...
What people need is get to rid of this political system. I mean, i don't see a bright future with so called "democracy"... We need intelligent people (not intellect here). People who know better and care about it's people..

I must admit I was somewhat ignorant of how Iran managed it's foreign relations, bu I did a search and...,

Seyed Mohammad Marandi is an assistant professor of English Literature at the University of Tehran and head of Department of North American Studies. He is also an honorary research fellow in the Department of American and Canadian Studies, University of Birmingham.

Seyed Mohammad Marandi

I'm not certain that he exactly speaks for the Iranian government, nor can we assume that his words 'color' the relationship between our two nations.

Unless I have the wrong person here.

Should such news items regarding my Federal Government's behavior be suspect, generally speaking? I often find myself thinking not just about the articles content, but it's intent.

reply to post by Maxmars


Intent? do you mean provocation? this is interesting. I'd like to read what you have to say about the intent... I see a problem with the memory of the race, on each side, but that's IMO.

reply to post by finemanm


Absolutely, and some of us caught some flak for stating as such a few days ago. This act by Barack Obama was a sign of weakness. It put the US on the defensive. If anyone doubted that, here's the proof. Iran is now asking us to meet their conditions.

In the end, it looks like he traded our position of strength in the negotiations for a few political points back home.

reply to post by vor78


Yup, that's it, political points. Obama is not in charge, he's just a puppet president, a front figure that is totally controlled by the world's "elite" families...
I think that money is the biggest problem many of us face. Most people base their entire life on it, for it brings power to those who have lots of it.
Confrontation with Iran is inevitable. Too many people have foreseen it, me included.

Originally posted by teklordz

Originally posted by finemanm
What I think is funny is that during the campaign, Obama kept saying that he wants to open a dialoge and meet with Iran "without preconditions."

I suppose it's just a political stunt for Obama. My insights of the future are not very good concerning the present president. He will make bad decisions, and those decisions will create even more chaos around the planet...
What people need is get to rid of this political system. I mean, i don't see a bright future with so called "democracy"... We need intelligent people (not intellect here). People who know better and care about it's people..

Yeah, totally, abandon democracy...just like Rome did...it totally worked out

The idea of releasing Iran’s frozen assets, which was taken solely as a punitive measure to punish post revolution Iran for terminating contracts with American corporations and seizing American corporations property is basically a sound one.

The regimes that the Shaw of Iran and his father before him were puppet regimes set up by the CIA to ensure a steady supply of crude oil into the United States, should our ties to Israel result in oil embargos by other Islamic nations, which in fact they did on more than one occasion.

The Shaw’s Secret Police the Savak who were backed up by the CIA were notorious both within Iran and abroad for human rights violations against Iranian dissidents, who because of the Cold War were not viewed as religious zealots but communist elements.

The Shaw admitted readily and publicly in interviews that the Savak was beyond his control and his ability to control because of their rabid anti-communist mentality. While his admission was basically true, what made them particularly hard to control was the support they enjoyed from a very active CIA in the pre-Carter years.

Iran was an absolutely abysmal place to live under the Shaw’s regime, with only two classes of citizens, those so poor they lived in absolute squalor, and those so rich they hardly spent anytime inside of Iran, but enjoyed an international jet set lifestyle.

It was Jimmy Carter spearheading laws through congress that limited the powers of the CIA abroad that led to a mass recall of CIA agents from the Middle East that ultimately not only destabilized and left the Shaw’s regime vulnerable but American interests in place like Beirut Lebanon that would eventually lead to even more U.S. embarrassment and frustration in the region, beyond and after a student led rebellion in Iran seized the American Embassy and sent the Shaw and the Savak fleeing into exile.

This did not though stop the United States from guaranteeing safe passage of the Ayatollah Khomeini from his exile in France where he had been forced to flee when the CIA installed the Shaw’s father’s regime in Iran and sought to eliminate any resistance to the regime based on religious organizations. It was hoped that by allowing the Ayatollah to return he could stabilize the radical elements inside of Iran who were pretty darn busy sifting through reams and reams of evidence of the CIA’s collusion with the Savak stored inside the U.S. Embassy, that the students had taken so quickly that there was no time to shred them.

American corporations, the Shaw, and a relatively small group of very affluent and well connected Iranians had for decades been reaping the vast majority of Iran’s oil wealth, while subjecting it’s citizens to tyrannical oppression and deprivation, that punished any dissent brutally.

Iran has a lot of reasons to not like America that naturally we here in America hate to lend credence too or talk about.

All the American and Israel propaganda in the world though, will not actually erase the stain of our actions left on the Iranian people, who for obvious reasons can’t and won’t buy into the rhetoric or the omissions.

If we want better relations with Iran, we might as well give them something to prove it, and giving them back their own money frozen 30 years ago in a vain hope to enforce U.S. contracts and keep cheap Iranian oil flowing, is probably a smart and sensible move.

It’s about on time too; it took about 30 years for Clinton to finally warm up to reestablishing ties with Hanoi and Vietnam.

It most likely has to be cheaper, and less costly than yet another Middle East War.

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


Thanks for the post. Very informative. I'm learning more and more here about this. IMO, it's all about manipulation of the few vs the rest of the world. Big corporations run the show, not politicians. The greatest freedom IMO is the freedom of the mind. To be free of any and all influences.

Very smart by Iran.
Their economy is hurting by the sanctions, they might not admit it, but it is.
So, they arent going to reject their offer, they are going to slowly bite away at the Americans patience.

Bank assets unfrozen.
Sanctions lifted...

Let Iran breathe a little.

Then, demand something the US Wont partake in

''stop supporting Israel''

I think that what we need to check is Russia's response to this. Iran is a very important business partner that brings a lot of money to the russian economy. I wouldn't be surprised to see Putin get involved in the very near future, by making a statement on the relation between them and Iran.

I am not really too interested on what the two sides are saying on the MSM.

I would be more interested on what is happening behind the scenes.

I really feel that Iran and US are already ironing out details and are only waiting for the right time to roll out the red carpet.

In the mean time they will continue to demand from each other so that the public can see that they are each defending their own.

Dog and pony show IMO as far as what is being said in public.

Originally posted by teklordz
reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler

 

Thanks for the post. Very informative. I'm learning more and more here about this. IMO, it's all about manipulation of the few vs the rest of the world. Big corporations run the show, not politicians. The greatest freedom IMO is the freedom of the mind. To be free of any and all influences.

One thing is for sure, we do not live in a society where it is either easy to come across the facts, or to express oppinions that are not politically correct, no matter how deeply rooted they are in common sense and or fact.

Most people do in fact not care about the facts, but rather the social validation and acceptance that comes with being politically correct.

The corporations sure do take advantage of this, who also basically control the government to act as basically a protector of their international interests.

Our forefathers did not want us intervening in foreign wars or choosing sides in them, and in fact we fought no war that wasn't a result of an invasion by England or Mexico or a Civil War until American Corporations went international, then all of a sudden the Marines were every where from China to the Phillipines to Cuba and Africa, protecting American Mining and Agricultural and Manufacturing interests.

To justify it to the citizens it is always couched in the form of some legitimate sounding threat to our domestic way of life, yet the Marines more often than not weren't attacking the regimes or their capitals but simply protecting American executives and operations from piece meal attacks by outraged local citizens, watching their land, resources, and labor being pillaged for a pittance of it's value.

Iran was initially selected to be our Oil supply backup because the Iranians are Persians and not Arab, and reside in Asia Minor not the Middle East. What really turned Iranians to be so anti-Israel was the fact that their resources and wealth were being pillaged by America and an undesired regime, because of the anti-U.S. sentiments backing Israel has caused amongst Arab nations who had traditionally been the source of America's oil gluttony and much more favorable cuts of the profits to the Regimes and the people living in places like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.

In other words had there been no Israel in the equation there would have been no need on the U.S.'s part to rule Iran through such a repressive puppet regime.

You can almost empathize with Iran's collective view that Israel has no right to exist, since it had not been an entity or a player in the region for almost two thousand years, and it's reintroduced presence ended up costing them a much higher price than they would have anticipated since the Iranians weren't traditionally interested in Middle East Politics being Persian, and residing in Asia Minor.

Like the Palestinians themselves they too suffered greatly for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time when for the sake of international politics, land and oil, they all of a sudden found themselves targets for exploitation through no direct invitation by their own actions prior.

Of course when you don't know the whole story, and the whole history, and religion, and racism is thrown into the mix, it's easy just to be politically correct.

The key word of course in politically correct, is not correct, but politically.

Often politically correct is the furthest from the actual truth you could get and still be on the same planet!

Money makes the world go round and it is without a doubt the root of all evil!

Originally posted by finemanm
What I think is funny is that during the campaign, Obama kept saying that he wants to open a dialoge and meet with Iran "without preconditions."

Guess what, the Iranians won't meet with the US until the US meets certain preconditions. This shows exactly how niave, inexperianced, and stupid the current administration is.

Now before you all start saying that Bush was this or that, I am not saying the last administration was any better, but Obama is a ZERO.

Don't laugh, you are making a mockery of yourself. Obama already laid down his conditions. In the video for Iranian New Years 'Now Roze' he clearly stated the conditions that needs to be met. Iran is just doing the same, that is called dialog. Both sides needs to compromise but I don't think USA being the supper power with all it's might and dignity will have the 'will' to compromise for peace all across Middle East.

Originally posted by ProtoplasmicTraveler
It was Jimmy Carter spearheading laws through congress that limited the powers of the CIA abroad that led to a mass recall of CIA agents from the Middle East that ultimately not only destabilized and left the Shaw’s regime vulnerable but American interests in place like Beirut Lebanon that would eventually lead to even more U.S. embarrassment and frustration in the region, beyond and after a student led rebellion in Iran seized the American Embassy and sent the Shaw and the Savak fleeing into exile.

I completely agree that Jimmy Carter is one of the most ineffective presidents that this country ever had, and I have been telling my friends that 9/11 isn't Clinton's fault or Bush's fault, but Carter's fault for weaking the US in the middle east in the '70's.

But now you have a president that is VERY Carter like in his approach to foreign policy. Not saying that Bush was doing the right thing, but Obama is not going to get the Iranians to the table with this nonsense. I honestly don't know what would get Iran to open an honest dialoge with the US, and stop funding international terrorism.

reply to post by Ownification


Yes, and with news like this, i sure wouldn't want to be president of the USA, nor the president of Iran... Netanyahu is dangerous.

[edit on 22-3-2009 by teklordz]

Originally posted by teklordz


IMO, it's all about manipulation of the few vs the rest of the world. Big corporations run the show, not politicians. The greatest freedom IMO is the freedom of the mind. To be free of any and all influences.

There is definitely some serious message management taking place .

With the upcoming Presidential elections in Iran this July , Iranians will get to choose between marine grey or military grey ....... with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei triumphing all.
Just as the Big Business Khamenei`s of Capitalism exert their influence on a two party system to the West.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is in the oil business.

reply to post by UmbraSumus


yes indeed, it's just business. Dangerous business, but business... But i still think that the memory of the race, both from the US side and the Iran side is a major obstacle. We live according to past events, we base our decision on the past, that is why history has a tendency to repeat itself...