Iran a Path Towards Rapprochement

Iran: A Path towards Rapprochement

The problem that the United States is facing with Iran is related to the problem that it had with Iraq and has in part with Afghanistan. One of the problems is the judgment of the administration that Iran is not doing enough to round up the supporters of Al Qaeda who exist within Iran, as was one of the complaints against Iraq. Some of these Al Qaeda supporters within Iran are believed by the United States to have caused the terrorist activities within Saudi Arabia. The other claim by the United States is that Iran is a Shiite Muslim country and they are the main source of support to the Shiite Muslims within Iraq opposing the United States. It has to be recognized here that even Iraq has a majority of Shiite Muslims, but they had been dominated by the Sunnis for quite some time under Saddam Hussein. Another accusation by United States against Iran is that they have an active nuclear activities program. (1)

The reply from Iran has been that United States is being dogmatic in its approach to Iran as also very arrogant. These characteristics of United States are being used for influencing religion and also leading to the use of force, domination of other countries and taking unilateral decisions by the United States. This stopped the practice of freedom and democracy according to Iran. To counter the problem that United States is facing in Iran, there was a plan to support the Iranian opposition group called the People's Mujahedeen or the Mujahedeen-e-Kalq. This group is presently among the foreign terrorist organizations now listed in the United States. They are to be supported for overthrowing the present Iranian government. (2)

At the time of criticizing Iran and its flagrant violations of International laws and standards of behavior, it would be useful to remember that U.S. also does the same. One of such incidents was the case of Terry Anderson, who was an American journalist held hostage in Beirut between 1985 and 1991. This is as per a law that the American Congress passed to permit the victims of terrorism to sue the country that sponsored terrorism. (3) This is against international law which says that one country cannot tell another country what it should do. Thus an U.S. law now violates an old established international law. Even in Japan, there cannot be any national laws that dominate over international law. Thus the law compels U.S. courts to award Anderson money if he can prove that Iran had any role in the kidnapping. It is known that he was kidnapped by Hezbollah and that is a terrorist group in Lebanon, but financed by Iran. (4)

The release of Anderson came after Iran asked for his release. Some of the other people in the same case of kidnapping have already won a total of $315 million. It is obvious that Iran won't pay and the only way of collecting the money will be to seize Iranian assets in U.S.. A further law was also passed to ask the State and Treasury departments to help such victims to locate such assets of foreign countries in 1998. (5) The only person who can stop this charade is the President. In the case of the awarded $315 million, President Clinton had done it. He had also asked the government lawyers to advise the court to make it clear that this will not be paid even if the victims can find out any such asset. The problem is that if one government starts seizing the assets of another, it will start an unending round. That is the purpose of the international law. (6) This shows that the United States also has its own bunch of ignorant mullahs.

Context:

Every region of the world has its own superpowers and leaders, and in the Persian gulf United States has always viewed two countries as significant regional powers in the form of Iraq and Iran. It has felt that the interests of these two countries often differ from the view of the world that U.S. has, and to be able to control these countries, the policy used has been dual containment. The theory of dual containment is to stop invasions by Iraq, as it did during its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Naturally, the world's only superpower also would not like additions to the members of the nuclear club, or even development of biological and chemical weapons. For Iran this had meant the stoppage of its expansion into the Gulf as also its efforts at destabilization of the pro-American powers in that area. (7)

The process of dual containment has been executed by organizing local alliances, the keeping of a large direct military force in that area and the different economic restrictions that had been imposed against these countries. There are good reasons for having been worried about the military might of these countries. In 1989 July, the then President of Iran, Hashemi Rafsanjani had concluded a deal with the Soviet Union and bought 48 MiG-29 fighters and 100 T-72 tanks.(8) The total purchase was some $1.9 billion. For their own protection they also made a plan to spend $2 billion every year on the purchase of arms. They had then prepared a plan to buy a total of some 300 modern aircraft consisting of MiG-29 and 31s and Su-24s.

The army was to get between 5,000 and 6,000 tanks as also some 2,000 artillery pieces. In addition to the tanks, there were to be a few thousand armored personnel carriers as also three Russian made Kilo-class submarines for the navy. The navy was also to get fast patrol boats with missiles of the type of Phillips 1994. Apart from the Al-Qaeda, Iran has its own terrorist group called the Hezbollah who exist in Lebanon. Iran is viewed as a danger as it has always followed a hegemonic policy in the gulf and is now following adversarial policies towards United States. It is viewed as a serious threat to United States in the region. (9)

Another problem that America has faced is the inconsistencies in its action plans against terrorism. One such case was the attack on the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983. During the trials in 2003, it was discovered that the U.S. government of that time knew who had carried out the attacks, yet no action was taken against the people who committed the crime. The worst part of the issue is that U.S. had also received intelligence regarding the planning of the attack and done nothing about it. There was a message to the ambassador of Iran and it asked him to contact the terrorist group leader, Hussein Musawi of Amal and instruct him to take some spectacular action against the Marines. This then resulted in the terrorists driving a truck packed up with 20,000 pounds of TNT and blowing it up within the Marine barracks just outside the airport of Beirut. (10)

The message from Tehran had come about four weeks earlier, and the CIA staff in Damascus had received the copy of the message as soon as it was intercepted. This was then transmitted to the CIA headquarters in Langley. They just sat on it and replied that they were not interested in any information about the Marines. It is said that Osama bin Laden has felt that the Marine bombing and the lack of reply from the U.S. As the biggest encouragement for the jehadi movement. This led them to believe that they could attack the U.S. when they liked. It is only now, after the 11th of September that America is attacking the terrorists in their area. (11) Yet, a distinction has to be made between terrorists and countries.

The biggest question that may be asked is that the Persian Gulf is quite far away from the United States, then why should we pay so much attention to that area? As of now there are a few deaths taking place every week among American soldiers who are posted in Iraq. The basic reason is the presence of oil and two thirds of the world's known reserves of oil are located in the gulf. If theses oil fields were to come under the control of some other power, then the situation of the United States would become difficult. America has a certain amount of oil and may control its own situation with difficulty, but the situation in Japan and Western Europe would be even worse. This is now being threatened by the Islamic revolution and the strength of these countries. To stop the revolution, America has to control the situation in the countries that are under the rule of the friends of America - it has to ensure political and economic reform in countries like Kuwait. (12)

This would remove the conditions of poverty and marginalization that is taking place in these countries. The other problem of this area is the conflict between the Israelis and the Arabs. By shifting the Jews out of Europe, a certain amount of religious conflict was avoided in Europe, and the Jews felt happy that they had got their own land for the first time after the great Exodus, yet the people disposed of their land was the Arabs. This is the fundamental reason for the conflict which does not seem to get solved. The war that took place between Iraq and Iran in September 1980 also clearly showed that oil is under attack when a conflict takes place in that region. Both the sides led the attacks against the tankers from the other country as well as the refineries, and then to stop the other country by stopping its oil, led to attacks on neutral shipping as well. (13)

This led to a situation by 1987 where Kuwait sought the resistance of the U.S. In sending her tankers and the U.S. took up the task. This caused conflict between U.S. And Iran. Ultimately the tragic shooting down of an Iranian airliner took place by USS Vincennes in July 1988. (14) Luckily the war did not last much longer and calm was restored. The policy is being followed for quite some time now and there have been different reactions. The policy had protected some of the American friendly countries from Iraqi attacks and this includes countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. The view of the United States is however lop-sided and it views the Islamic revolution now being concentrated only in Iran. At the same time, it is not trying to solve the problems of marginalization of many socio-economic groups in the Gulf. This is pushing these groups to the radical Islamists as being the only solution to the present pro-Western states. They are beginning to feel that the West is not taking care of their troubles. (15)

The difficulties with Iran had started from the time the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979 and in spite of the best efforts; United States has not found a solution to establish a proper relationship with it. Part of the reason is the general distrust that this republic has of America due to the history of dealings that America had with the Shah. America had made commitments to the Shah and tried to help him even when he was forced into exile, but was not capable of facing up to the crisis that existed in Iran at that time. As a result, the U.S. diplomats unfortunate enough to be in Iran at that time were held up for 444 days. The Americans also helped the Iraqis under Saddam Hussein during the eight-year war between the two countries, and it is possible that America's encouragement only made Saddam Hussein attack Iran. The shipping in the Gulf under American control was shifted to other countries and took up a lot of banning efforts.(16)

One of that was the sale of arms to Iran. America also spent a lot of efforts in freeing some hostages held by the Iranian supported Hezbollah factions in Lebanon. The situation was so bad that America was actively trying to set up different leaders in Iran with whom it could deal, and failed badly. After a rather face-losing failure on the efforts made through direct efforts, America tried to employ economic methods. America wanted Iran to be isolated till it stopped support for international terrorism, stopped opposing the so-called peace process in the Middle-East and stopped all its efforts in acquiring weapons of the modern grade. (17)On the other hand, Iran wanted the evacuation of American military from the Gulf, repayment of the dues owed to the country from the times before the Islamic revolution and disputed by Iran at The Hague, and stop trying to dislodge the Iranian government. Of course, Iran being a much smaller and poorer country probably knew that there was little chance of its grievances being redressed. The situation continued till the election of Khatami as president in 1997. (18)

The problems with regard to a rapprochement exist not only in the U.S. But also in Iran. This is due to the mistrust of the United States in Iran, especially about the motives and methods. Many incidents have taken place in the past to build this sort of a relationship and that includes the old Mossadeqh affair, the relationship of the U.S. To the Shah, and the U.S. commitments to Iran. It is felt by many that the United States does not want the progress of Iran in any respect. This sort of a feeling has lasted many years, and though it has come down somewhat now, they still affect the relationship. It is felt that the U.S. can do nothing right for Iran. One of the latest such case was in the assistance of Kosover Muslims by NATO. This was felt to be of great value, except for the fact that the effort originated from Washington. There are some conflicts even among Iranians regarding this issue and they feel that the people should be helped, but not by Washington. (19)

This sort of a contradiction arises because of the differences in the systems of the two countries and their culture, and of course, the long history of distrust. There are further problems in this for President Khatami. He is a keen observer of the systems in the U.S. And understands the U.S. intentions quite well, but he also does not have total control of all the political systems in Iran. He is relatively moderate, but his opponents use his views to cause him trouble. This forces him to talk occasionally about United States in a different manner so that his opponents cannot take further advantage of the situation. This is also probably a part of the character of the Islamic Republic. The connection to the religion comes out in very peculiar ways, and that is difficult for Westerners to understand. Recently, Khatami made a trip to Italy, and he succeeded in meeting the Pope. This was his part of the dialogue of civilizations effort, and it was considered a great success. (20)

This was considered to be even a diplomatic triumph for Iran. Yet a trip to France at the same time could not be completed. The reason for this was probably unique. Khatami could not permit himself to be photographed with the bottles of wine on the table, or even at dinner tables where the wine bottles would be visible. France on its side refused to adjust and stop serving alcohol at the table! This was a conflict between the abstemious compulsions of the head of an Islamic country, and the rather humorous attempt by France to maintain its own culture. The result was that an important state visit could not take place. (21)

Argument:

While the victory in Iraq has helped America in solving its problem in Iraq, the attitude of the Iranians to Americans has changed considerably. From the beginning of the fight against terror that was launched by America after the events of 11th September, the leaders in Iran have viewed some regimes as being their worst enemies. These were listed as being the Baathist rulers of Baghdad led by Saddam Hussein, the then existing Taliban in Kabul and then only the growing numbers of American soldiers in the Persian gulf and the nuclear armed Israel. They had begun to feel that they were then totally surrounded by their enemies of Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S. soldiers in the gulf. They also had strategic competition very near them through Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Azerbaijan. (22)

They felt that they had only two partners in Russia and Armenia and they were also not very reliable. This was the main reason why they felt that they must have access to nuclear technology and advanced forms of weapons. The justification given by the leaders of Iran was both self-defense and self-reliance. They now feel that they are totally surrounded by the troops of United States and they are viewed as the worst enemy of Iran. (23) They also consider Pakistan to be a threat, yet they have purchased their nuclear technology from Pakistan. Part of the reason why they purchased nuclear technology was to build up an image of a leader in the nearby area and to gather support within the people of the country through development of a national pride. The Iranians are aware that they cannot win in a fight with the United States, but are trying to build up a position from where they could develop a high enough threat of potential damage to United States. (24)

This is expected to be unacceptable to the American people and thus help Iran in being coerced by the Americans with any force. Another problem that has come up with Iran is the settlement of the Iraqi shias and the way their political future is settled will decide this matter. It will also affect the relations of Iran with Turkey and Syria as these countries are also affected by the same question. The problem of Iran has come to a head with the finding of enriched Uranium in the samples which have been collected the IAEA inspectors at the nuclear facility of Iran near Natanz. (25) This has even forced the European Union to review its position on different actions that it was earlier taking with Iran. This has stopped the Trade and Cooperation Agreement that was being signed with the Iranian government. The approach to Iran is now thus quite complicated and could have to be taken in different stages. The first and immediate step could be to diffuse the existing tensions and in the meantime taking steps for the long-term requirements. (26)

Another of the problems that America faces is because of the Baptist background and part of that is in the moralizing tone it adopts when talking to the rest of the world. This makes America feel that it has to tell the world what it finds destructive and unacceptable about the behavior of Iran and these are its sponsorship of terror, pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and repressions of the clearly expressed desires of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy. To do this it has to lay out a path for the partnership and support for the average Iranian. This is also a part of the American Baptist attitude and the general American feeling that they know what is best for the world. This is a matter of attitude. It is true that America is the richest country of the world, and part of the reason is the situation in which it was placed by history. (27)

Even in the twentieth century, the country was not affected directly by the two World Wars. Americans died - and quite a lot of them died - but they died abroad and the American families did not have to see their children dying in front of them. On the other hand, due to the interference of the Americans, the history of Iran was affected - and the Shah was imposed by the Americans. When the people of Iran threw out the Shah, there were attempts by America to re-impose him as the Americans say because of their responsibility to the Shah. The clear belief of America as a missionary for the preservation of the world is seen here. (28)

On the other hand, even when the present rulers of America were not there, Iran was a civilized country and they had a religion change when the Zoroastrians were forced to leave the country and those people now survive only in India. The spirit of tolerance is still absent in America, and that comes from the polish that the rough sands of time gives to any civilization. The Americans say that when given choice, the people will choose freedom, democracy, and human rights. The whole world aspires for economic and educational opportunity. (29)But these are empty words and not understood by people who are suffering economic deprivation.

One of the great writers in Bengali, Sukanta Bhattacharya had written "To a hungry man, the full moon appears like a half burnt piece of home baked bread."(30) To a poet this is an image of beauty - it is all a matter of perception. Yet, the Americans feel that they have to preach to the rest of the world as to what is best for them. The rest of the world shuts up as they are poorer than America in natural resources and needs her help. "It's a dual track policy based on moral clarity: tell the world specifically what is destructive and unacceptable about Iran's behavior: sponsorship of terror, pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and repression of the clearly expressed desires of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy, while laying out a positive vision of partnership and support for the Iranian people," was the statement of Khalilzad, a senior U.S. official regarding the region. (31)

Iran is a poor country and it is estimated that 30% of the Iranians are unemployed and annual inflation is at a high 30%. In spite of Iran being a very high oil producing country, it still cannot refine oil in sufficient quantities and has to import refined oil products. The GDP of Iran has not been growing for many years and this has probably brought down the real income of Iranians. Large numbers of Iranians are moving out of the country, and it is estimated that 25% of the Iranian graduates seek work outside the country. Even today some actions by Iran are liked in America and they held a candlelight vigil after the attacks of 9th September and it was recognition of the large number of deaths that took place and the general grief that it caused. Yet, there was an earthquake in Iran at Bam, and there were no general recognition by the American citizens of the grief it caused Iranians. (32)

Today we live in an age where the value of every human life is thought to be the same. There are reports of Al Qaeda terrorists existing in Iran after passing through on exit from Afghanistan. It is possible that the Iranian government was not even aware of them. That was probably the real reason for the denial of the existence of these terrorists. The other problem that exists is the opposition of Iran to the existence of Israel. On the other hand it opposes the Taliban in Afghanistan and helped in the establishment of the Afghan Interim Authority and the Loya Jirgah as steps to start the Afghan Transitional Administration. Iran also is very helpful support for the government now being run by Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan. Yet it has sent some forces of Quds to different parts of Afghanistan and not informed the Interim government about it. (33)

Yet the situation within Iran has also been changing and one important factor was the victory of Khatami in the Presidential elections in 1997. As a President, he offered his condolences for the victims after the incident of 11th September.(34) Similar was the action of the mayor of Teheran who sent his sympathy to the mayor of New York. In that troubled period, America also asked for assistance for the American military personnel forced to land in Iran or escaped to Iran from Afghanistan. In return, it promised to respect all international bindings on America regarding the respect for airspace over Iran as well as the territorial integrity of Iran. This was in a letter of October 7th. Iran replied to it promptly and assured the assistance of pilots brought down on Iranian soil. It also assured assistance for the passage of food and other humanitarian supplies for the Afghan refugees through Iran.(35)

As a matter of fact, this had already been started through the United Nations in the summer of 2001. The condemnation of Osama bin Laden by the Iranians was also clear in the speech given by Khatami in his speech to the UN General Assembly in October, in New York. He had described them as fanatics, extremists and terrorists. He had said that their only action was carnage and destruction. It is interesting to note here that part of the difference between the two types of Muslims - Shias and Sunnis also exist in their mental make up and cultural behavior. Unfortunately, the Westerners have had little contact with the Shias, and even the word does not exist in American English.(36)

He had also stated then that Iran was not opposed to cultural or economic ties with the United States and had also indirectly stated that Iran would accept the decisions of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians regarding the question of Israel. The right of Israel to exist was left by him to be decided by the Palestinians in no uncertain terms - "we will respect the wishes of the Palestinian nation."(37) This has been the stand of Iran and had also been made by the other Iranian leaders including Hashemi and Rafsanjani. This is the comment made by even Saddam Hussein in 1980s and was then found acceptable in the United States. (38)

The fight in Iran over its attitude to United States continues and Khamenei has called Israel a cancerous tumor repeatedly. It has also tried to sabotage the peace process by offering rewards for the other groups, but Khatemi has been somewhat of a moderator. He has said that Iran would not try to block any settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians. At the same time it has been arming the Palestinians and in January 2002, some 50 tons of arms bought by the Palestinian authority from Iran was stopped by Israel. Iran does not however contacts with the non-Islamic Palestinian groups including the PA Regarding Saudi Arabia, Khatemi was the first to visit it after the Islamic revolution in Iran in May 1999. (39)

The other leader, Khamenei was also invited by Saudi Arabia, but he has not gone. At the time of the Clinton administration, the effort was on covert aid to the opponents of the regime to get its overthrow or at least change its behavior. This led to the provision in 1998 of $4million for a Radio Free Iran to be run by Radio Free Europe group. This is a service in Farsi and began operations from Prague on October 31, 1998. (40) This has then become Radio Farda, meaning tomorrow in Farsi from December 2002. Another $4 million was provided in 1999 for radio. Regarding TV, the Voice of America began a service on July 12, 2003. At the same time, the situation in Iran has also been volatile and student-led protests took place in the major cities from June 12, 2003 and lasted six days. (41)

Regarding the situation in Afghanistan, Iran is afraid of a pro-U.S. tilt by the new government and has moved to assure the traditional sway of Iran in the western, central and northern parts of Afghanistan where the predominance is of Persian speaking Afghans. It does not have much interest in the other Afghans and has expelled Gulbuddin Hekmatyer, who was a Pushtu leader, but an opponent of the present government. This was the result of a visit by the Afghan leader Hamid Karzai to Iran, and the two countries also agreed on broad cooperation. Iran is the home to 30,000 Jews, and this is the largest number in Middle East apart from Israel, and they also are relatively free, and the only action taken against them has been the execution of five during 1993-98. (42) Economically it seems to be improving and Iran claims that the external debt has been brought down from $32 billion in 1997 to about 420 billion as of March 2002, as per their Central Bank. (43)

Yet, within Iran there are groups opposed to Khatami and his efforts to modernize the face of Iranian Islam through removal of restrictions on social and cultural life as also personal freedoms. His progressive foreign policy is also being opposed. The conservatives or hard-liners within Iran have tried to checkmate him all the time by closing reformist newspapers. The supporters of Khatami have also been arrested and that included the mayor of Teheran. A parliamentarian who criticized the conservative dominated judiciary as being undemocratic was also arrested. Khatami and the other liberal politicians had been talking of condolences and the celebration of the dialogue of civilizations at the UN now. In spite of all the troubles, Iran is slowly moving to a less aggressive definition of its own action. (44)

As a country Iran is becoming more nationalistic and the religious and revolutionary definitions are becoming softer. But, like any other country, the national interest would still influence its foreign and domestic policies. The religious bent of the Iranians will stop them from seriously thinking of dismantling the rule of the clerics or vilayat-e faqih. Progress to that can only come with removal of the difficulties presently being envisaged around the Iranian nation. Khatami may be viewed as a step in the gradual shifting of Iran from a society just after a religious revolution to a more tolerant society as it was before the revolution. The changing nature of the society and its preferences lead Iran to act in calculated ambiguity whereas the United States would prefer to have direct and clear cut answers. (45)

Part of the reason for this is the political situation in Iran where there is a continuous tussle for supremacy between the determined conservatives and the relatively liberal President. The conservatives still hold a lot of power in the judiciary, military and security services as these were instrumental in the revolution. This helps them to overrule the efforts of the President to shift to a gradual liberal government or go ahead with reform. There are continuous arrests of the reformists, closure of newspapers and even public floggings. Some feel that it is probably better for Khatami to take a direct stand against these conservatives, but it is difficult to be certain that people would like to face the probable resultant turmoil. Like any other nation, the Iranians are in general peace loving and would not like to face another upheaval caused by their opposition to government actions. (46)

Regarding the image of the country, it is viewed as being encircled by its enemies. Iraq has been their enemy for a long time and also used chemical weapons during them in the 8-year war. It also now has a large presence of U.S. army and the Shias are only being able to get their human rights slowly. Pakistan is also a Sunni country and has had quite a few battles with Iran regarding border disputes. (47) It was also responsible for the activity against Iran in Afghanistan in the past. The Central Asian republics were once a part of soviet Russia and are now an open source for economic opportunity attracting a lot of carpet-baggers. There are also U.S. bases. The U.S. And Israel are clearly viewed as enemies and it is expected that the U.S. is likely to install pro-American governments in Baghdad and Kabul.

The U.S. would also prefer to have military bases in Central Asia. Israel is viewed as a country that will hold on to the holy cities of Muslims. Regarding the nuclear, biological and chemical weapons it is a competitive situation with Iraq and Israel. Iran would find it difficult to match those countries in terms of conventional weapons. (48) The solution would be to encourage foreign investments in domestic and economic infrastructure of Iran. For this purpose dual use technology may have to be applied. It is better for the Western countries to agree to assist a pipeline project that would be able to carry petroleum products from Central Asian countries would be a good signal. For all actions more predictable and transparent responses are needed. Even if Iran crosses the nuclear threshold, they may not be interested in going further, like Libya.

The interest of America in Iran is tied up with Iraq and if both become armed with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, then that would determine America's activity in the region. Regarding the access by America through the straits of Hormuz, it may be better to arrange an international agreement on the matter, as that will stop the Iranians from blocking up that passage. (49) In the past, the system of sanctions by America against trade with Iran was effective in the case of certain countries, but the situation is changing rapidly in the world regarding such restrictions. It will not be possible for America to dictate terms to other countries much longer. It may be better to try to build up links with Iran on the ground. For this purpose, it is important to recognize the value of Iran in a regional forum that can be built up. This would help Iran pursue its dreams in the field of politics, economy and strategic interaction. This would also permit interaction before Iran acquires nuclear power and becomes more of a threat. (50)

Even the American government has noted the changes and the views that are being currently expressed note certain positive facts about Iran like the relatively low age of the population - 70% of the 68 million people being below 30. (51) It is natural that these people are more worried about employment than the history of Iran. The country also has certain human elements about it like the expression of sympathy after the incidents of 9th September. The country also experiences demonstrations and elections in favor of reform. The people are able to demonstrate regarding their feelings though the blame is assigned by the government on outsiders. This is also regarding matters of Iranian pride like the visiting of the airport by ordinary people to greet Shirin Ebadi when she got the Nobel Prize for Peace. The attitude of Iran towards Afghanistan has been to want to get a stable and unified neighbor. (52)

This is the same attitude towards Iraq, and Iran has also taken steps in that direction. Iran has welcomed the end of the drug-running, violent and refugee producing regime of the Taliban. This had affected Iran directly. The formation of the Iraqi governing council has been welcomed by Iran and Iran has supported their talk with material support to the situation now In Afghanistan with material support at both Bonn and Madrid. There is also cooperation from Iran regarding regional counter-narcotics and refugee repatriation. This has been recognized by President Bush when he stated that issues regarding Iran do not have to be settled by force, and there was confirmation from Secretary Powell through saying that U.S. was not seeking a confrontation with Iran. (53)

Even when the incidents of 2001 took place the only real hope was that Iran will remain neutral in the battle of U.S. with the terrorists. The rapprochement with Iran was never expected to be easy as the position of Iran was viewed with suspicion by both the Bush administration, as well as the supporters of Israel. In Iran, it is only the group of President Khatami which has the statesmanship and pragmatism to see in the entire issue of terrorism an opportunity to advance the national interest of Iran. The friendship with U.S. would also weaken the hold of the hard-line opponents of Khatami on power. This was seen even during the immediate aftermath of 9/11 when the candle-lit vigil was organized in Iran. As this was unauthorized, the security forces brutally broke up the vigil. (54)

The chief ideological pillar for the Islamic group is the maintenance of U.S. As the "Great Satan" and enemy. It is not possible for the government of Iran to support any retaliatory move against the terrorist groups unless it is backed by the leadership of the United Nations. They can only take certain other action that will serve the national interests of Iran. The cooperation of Iran could be rewarded by the lifting of sanctions. The powers of Khatami are limited and he may not have the power to stop portions of the Iranian government from training foreign extremists, even if he wants to. (55)

This was released immediately after 9/11 and after a long time, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan spoke to Iranians at Bonn during the talks of forming the new administration in Afghanistan. He said "And I had a brief handshake and discussion with the Iranian foreign minister in the UN," Powell also said. "So there are a number of things going on and we recognize the nature of that regime and we recognize that the Iranian people are starting to try to find a way forward." (56) The history of Islamic Republic of Iran started with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and he was blood thirsty tyrant who was instrumental in sending Iran back by generations. He was a poor and ill-informed leader and had a tremendous lack of political sophistication.