Regis Philbin
Dec 11th, 2006, 12:44 AM
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1568431,00.html
Iran Reacts Favorably to the Baker-Hamilton Plan
While the White House remains wary of the proposal to talk with Iran, Tehran sources tell TIME that the regime believes such talks are in the country's best interest
By SCOTT MACLEOD/TEHRAN
Posted Saturday, Dec. 09, 2006
The Iranian government has responded more positively than the Bush Administration has to the Iraq Study Group's proposal for talks between the two. And government sources in Tehran tell TIME that this reflects a sincere and calculated desire among the Iranian leadership for improved relations with Washington.
Responding to the Baker-Hamilton report's proposal that Washington move quickly to engage Iran on talks over stabilizing Iraq, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki dangled an offer of cooperation in a statement published by an Iranian news agency. "Iran will support any policies returning security, stability and territorial integrity to Iraq," he said, "and considers withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and leaving security to the Iraqi government as the most suitable option." In an interview on Al Jazeera, Mottaki added that if the U.S. needs an "honorable way out of Iraq," and Iran "is in a position to help."
President Bush, by contrast, appeared to rebuff the suggestion, insisting that Iran would have to suspend its uranium-enrichment program before it could talk to the U.S. about Iraq. And the response from many U.S. lawmakers questioning Iran's motives in Iraq underscored the continued taboo in Washington over dealing openly with the Islamic Republic.
Three Iranian sources — a government official and two figures close to government policymakers — tell TIME that Mottaki's statement is reflective of a solid consensus among the regime's foreign-policy decision makers that restoring relations with the U.S. is in Iran's best interests. "If tomorrow the U.S. seriously — and I emphasize the word seriously — tried to engage Iran, in a way that accepted the 1979 Iranian revolution and engaged Iran in a respectful atmosphere, then Iran would welcome the chance to address mutual concerns," said one of the sources, a prominent expert on U.S.-Iranian relations.
Iran Reacts Favorably to the Baker-Hamilton Plan
While the White House remains wary of the proposal to talk with Iran, Tehran sources tell TIME that the regime believes such talks are in the country's best interest
By SCOTT MACLEOD/TEHRAN
Posted Saturday, Dec. 09, 2006
The Iranian government has responded more positively than the Bush Administration has to the Iraq Study Group's proposal for talks between the two. And government sources in Tehran tell TIME that this reflects a sincere and calculated desire among the Iranian leadership for improved relations with Washington.
Responding to the Baker-Hamilton report's proposal that Washington move quickly to engage Iran on talks over stabilizing Iraq, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki dangled an offer of cooperation in a statement published by an Iranian news agency. "Iran will support any policies returning security, stability and territorial integrity to Iraq," he said, "and considers withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and leaving security to the Iraqi government as the most suitable option." In an interview on Al Jazeera, Mottaki added that if the U.S. needs an "honorable way out of Iraq," and Iran "is in a position to help."
President Bush, by contrast, appeared to rebuff the suggestion, insisting that Iran would have to suspend its uranium-enrichment program before it could talk to the U.S. about Iraq. And the response from many U.S. lawmakers questioning Iran's motives in Iraq underscored the continued taboo in Washington over dealing openly with the Islamic Republic.
Three Iranian sources — a government official and two figures close to government policymakers — tell TIME that Mottaki's statement is reflective of a solid consensus among the regime's foreign-policy decision makers that restoring relations with the U.S. is in Iran's best interests. "If tomorrow the U.S. seriously — and I emphasize the word seriously — tried to engage Iran, in a way that accepted the 1979 Iranian revolution and engaged Iran in a respectful atmosphere, then Iran would welcome the chance to address mutual concerns," said one of the sources, a prominent expert on U.S.-Iranian relations.