Dialogue With Good Intentions

There was a SMS (mobile message ) floating around last week. I received it from 3 different people. It read " President Ahmadinejad has responded to the 5+1 package on the nuclear issue and he has said the answer is 6!" It seems there was a positive tone in the message that related to the actual developments underway.

The hot weather in Tehran these days is made hotter by news that spreads, first as gossip, but quickly takes ground as fact. Steps for a gradual but full blown rapprochement with the US are apparently underway .The Americans will wisely send Undersecretary Burns to the 5+1 negotiations tomorrow in Geneva. The letters of Dr. Velayati ( Advisor to the Leader) published in Liberation and other newspapers which I mentioned in a former blog post indicated a cautious change of tone. The Guardian article made official a rumour that floated around a week ago on the establishment of an American Interests Section in Tehran. Finally the Iranian Foreign Minister Motakei in Istanbul spoke favorably about both the Interests Section and the direct flights between the two countries.
Although we should not overestimate the importance of these developments, it seems that improvement of relations will not only genuinely benefit the two nations, but both the Bush and the Ahmadinejad administrations will make the most from this development in their party elections. We need to wait until tomorrow to make any final judgment on the outcome of these talks yet we can hope that both sides take part with good intentions in mind . They also need to mind the fact that the deal that they strike needs to be face saving for both countries. The Americans need to understand that Iran cannot be ignored or denied any longer.
I think Iranians will welcome these developments but with much scepticism, they have learned to be patient and leave the final judgements to later, more convenient times.