Editorial
US' olive branch to Iran
Opportunity to better relationship
The US president's overture to Iran on the eve of the Persian New Year Nowruz, is a significant departure from his predecessor's policy that never lost a chance to refer to Iran as a part of the axis of evil. We welcome the change of attitude of a establishment that had looked at Iran and indeed much of the Middle East and the Muslin world with a blinkered vision. Mr. Obama should be congratulated for taking the first step, as he had promised in his campaign he would, seeking engagement with Iran that was "honest and based on mutual respect".
We understand that the move will not endear him to Israel and most certainly the pro-Israeli lobby in the US will be sorely looking at the olive branch offered to Iran.
We would like to see the effort on the part of the US to shed the baggage of history insofar as its relationship with a country, that has been a part of one of the oldest civilization of the world, after nearly thirty years of hiatus, lead to a positive outcome on a reciprocal basis. It should help lay the foundation of an era of new relationship between US and Iran.
But several things need to be sorted out before concrete developments become visible. What one would like to see are the openings, and how they will be exploited, defined clearly. Although it might appear that Obama's offer is unconditional, there may be conditions, not articulated but implied, in the very formulation of the US offer.
To build on the offer we feel that the first step for both the countries should be to create an environment of trust by appreciating and acknowledging the real compulsions of each other.
The US must appreciate the very sensitive position that Iran is now in. It continues to suffer from the fear of encirclement, with Israel, the greatest threat to the region in close proximity, and the very physical presence in military terms, of its archenemy the US, right in the territory of its neighbour Iraq. Iran has the right to defend itself as much as any other country, and to that end it has the right to undertake measures that ensure its security.
As for Iran it must act transparently while seeking to arm itself and must do everything to remove the perception among its rivals that its nuclear programme is indeed for peaceful purposes.
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