THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama's conciliatory and nuanced approach towards Iran confronts its leaders with their greatest foreign policy dilemma since the end of the war with Iraq almost 21 years ago, says David Blair.
If Iran's leaders had the power to choose between a belligerent America threatening "regime change" and a conciliatory US President hailing their "great and celebrated culture", they would probably prefer to bask in firebreathing threats.
When the "Great Satan" looks suitably wicked – and throws around epithets like "axis of evil" – Iran's leaders can sit back and relax. They can afford to stage "Death to America" rallies and be as intransigent as possible.
Their difficulties only arise when the "Great Satan" stubbornly refuses to be remotely satanic. President Barack Obama's conciliatory and nuanced approach towards Iran confronts its leaders with their greatest foreign policy dilemma since the end of the war with Iraq almost 21 years ago.
Mr Obama's message on the occasion of Iran's New Year was a carefully crafted attempt to unsettle its leadership. Iran's "accomplishments" in art and culture had "made the world a better and more beautiful place", said Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a Muslim who carries the name of the founder of the Shia faith.
With his words carried in Farsi subtitles, Mr Obama added that Iran's many achievements had won the "respect of America and the world". This was a calculated appeal to the country's 70 million people, roughly two thirds of whom are under 30.
Any visitor to Tehran is struck by how young Iranians have embraced Western – and specifically American – popular culture. This does not simply extend to fashion, films, music and the regime's famously futile attempts to ban satellite dishes. What struck me on my last visit was how the bookshops outside Tehran University sell dictionaries of American idiom and helpful guides on how to adopt an American accent. >>> By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor | Tuesday, March 24, 2009
