海角大神

Iran offers rare praise for 'the Great Satan'

Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directed rare praise at the United States, welcoming a speech by President Obama that aimed to cool war rhetoric surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

Iran鈥檚 supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today gave brief but unprecedented praise to a leader of the United States, welcoming President Obama's effort to cool down war rhetoric in the West surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

鈥淭his talk is good talk and shows an exit from illusion,鈥� Ayatollah Khamenei told Iran鈥檚 Assembly of Experts, a senior clerical body, according to a translation by Agence France-Presse.聽鈥淏ut the US president continued saying that he wants to make the Iranian people kneel through sanctions, this part of this speech shows the continuation of illusion in this issue."

Khamenei's rare and unexpected praise of Mr. Obama may be a first signal of an easing of the paranoia that has gripped the Iranian regime since a popular uprising erupted after elections in 2009. The Islamic Republic proclaimed a 鈥渧ictory鈥� in parliamentary elections last week, declaring an official 64 percent turnout critical to internal security and legitimacy.

Khamenei said that result would boost Iran鈥檚 鈥減restige and security,鈥� and actual belief in such support 鈥� despite an opposition boycott and numerous irregularities 鈥� may have underpinned his words today.

A snap analysis by the Iran News Now website of Khamenei鈥檚 comments said the parliamentary elections 鈥渉ave left Khamenei feeling secure enough to publicly acknowledge Obama鈥檚 caution on war talk.鈥�

Khamenei鈥檚 praise of Obama is 鈥渁lso a sign that he fears the possibility of an attack, otherwise, it is out of character for Khamenei,鈥� wrote Iran News Now. 鈥淐ombo of feeling secure internally but insecure externally has led to Khamenei begrudgingly giving a qualified nod to Obama.鈥�

Obama has in recent days sought to dampen war talk from Republican presidential candidates, Congress, and Israeli leaders and their supporters at a 13,000-strong conference of the pro-Israel AIPAC lobby in Washington.

'Not a game'

鈥淭his is not a game. There is nothing casual about it,鈥� Obama said on Tuesday, scolding Republicans for 鈥渂luster鈥� and 鈥渂ig talk鈥� about launching strikes against Iran to halt Iran鈥檚 nuclear efforts.聽The US president said he believed there remained a 鈥渨indow of opportunity where this can still be resolved diplomatically.鈥�

Khamenei, meanwhile, has only rarely in recent years commented directly on words or gestures from the United States 鈥� which Iran has lambasted as an arch enemy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Initial American gestures in the first months of the Obama administration were cautiously noted by Khamenei, who did not rule out moving toward some kind of d茅tente but couched his response in suspicion that the outstretched American hand was a clenched fist wrapped in velvet.

Not a day has gone by since 1979, Khamenei has often declared, when the US has not sought to undermine the Islamic regime. Chants of 鈥淒eath to America鈥� still ring out at Friday prayers across the country, and American and Israeli flags are burned and trampled upon during key revolution anniversary dates.

International talks coming

Khamenei鈥檚 words today come as both the Iranians and P5+1 group 鈥� the US, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany 鈥撀爃ave signaled that they will resume nuclear talks in coming weeks for the first time in a year.

The board of the UN鈥檚 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting in Vienna today declared that those talks needed to be 鈥渟erious鈥� and yield 鈥渃oncrete results,鈥� after two IAEA expert visits to Iran last month failed to make progress on outstanding questions about possible nuclear weapons-related work by Iran.

But the聽most critical recent event inside Iran was the parliamentary elections. Despite boycotts of the vote, the banning of one-third of potential candidates, and the continued house arrest of opposition leaders, the Islamic regime claimed a renewed聽legitimacy after the star-crossed 2009 presidential election, streets protests, and violent crackdown.

Farideh Farhi, an Iran specialist at the University of Hawaii, suggested to the Monitor this week that the regime may try to translate claims of an 鈥渆pic鈥� election victory against 鈥渆nemies鈥� into an easing of Iran鈥檚 鈥減aranoia鈥� in dealing with what it calls the opposition 鈥渟edition鈥� at home, and in nuclear moves with the West.

鈥淟et us hope they will be happy,鈥� Ms. Farhi told the Monitor. 鈥淚t will have benefits for everybody if the paranoia goes away, and they feel successful.鈥�

Tweets from the ayatollah

Khamenei himself made that direct connection, between the election results and his words for Obama, in his comments broadcast on state-run TV.

They were highlighted on聽his official Twitter account, with comments on Obama intermingled with those about the election results.

In a rapid series a six tweets in English, Khamenei was first quoted saying the election was a slap against 鈥渢hose with illusions about future of [Islamic] system and people.鈥�

He then referred to Obama as #POTUS 鈥撀燩resident of the United States 鈥� and wrote: 鈥淚t's good to realize that war with Iran won鈥檛 work & it seems he is not delusional any more,鈥� adding minutes later that it was a 鈥渄elusion鈥� of Obama to aim to 鈥渃ripple鈥� the Iranian people with sanctions.

鈥淲ith 33 years of sanctions, and intensifying it last year, they wanted to create a separation between people & [the] Islamic regime,鈥� the tweets continued. 鈥淏ut the 2 March election signified people鈥檚 vote and devotion to the Islamic Republic of Iran.鈥�

Efforts to calm the rhetoric from both Iran and the White House come at the peak of months of escalating war talk over an Iranian nuclear effort, one in which US intelligence and military officials say Iran has not yet made a decision to go for a weapon.

Iran says it only aims to peacefully produce nuclear energy, as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In late February, Khamenei repeated Iran鈥檚 view that having nuclear weapons was a 鈥渟in鈥� and that Iran 鈥渨ill never go after such weapons.鈥�

The rhetoric of 'existential' threats

Rhetoric and threats against Iran from the campaign trail in America, and from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, present Iran as racing for a nuclear weapon that will present an 鈥渆xistential threat鈥� to the Jewish state.

鈥淚 will take every measure necessary to check the evil regime of the ayatollahs,鈥� Mitt Romney wrote in the Washington Post this week, stating his willingness to use military force. 鈥淥nly when they understand that at the end of that road lies not nuclear weapons but ruin will there be a real chance for a peaceful resolution.鈥�

Candidate Rick Santorum told the AIPAC meeting: 鈥淚f Iran doesn鈥檛 get rid of [its] nuclear facilities, we will tear them down ourselves.鈥�