0
TEHRAN: Moderate conservatives in Iran have made tentative approaches to Washington in recent weeks aimed at defusing mounting Iran-US tensions and preserving the future of clerical rule, sources and analysts said on Sunday.
Alarmed by talk in some US circles of “regime change” in Iran, the conservative group — said to be close to influential former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani — is offering to address Washington’s concerns on nuclear weapons and terrorism.
“In return, they want the Americans to recognize Iran as a major regional player, playing a positive role in security in the region, and to be left to run domestic politics as they see fit,” said one source, requesting anonymity.
The initiative by what some Iranian analysts call the neo-conservatives comes as US thinking appears split between hawks in the Pentagon — also known as neo-conservatives — who favour a get-tough policy to destabilize Iran’s leadership, and a more dovish State Department that wants to keep dialogue open.
Washington’s limited contact with Iran, as well as Europe’s warmer diplomatic ties, have been with the reformist government of President Mohammad Khatami rather than its conservative opponents, grouped around supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
CONSERVATIVES CAN DELIVER: Officials from Iran’s government, which faces tough opposition from the conservatives who control the armed forces, judiciary and veto-wielding constitutional bodies, have met US counterparts several times to discuss Afghanistan and Iraq.
The talks were abruptly halted following US charges senior Al Qaeda members were planning attacks from Iran.
For moderate conservatives “it is easier to address US requirements regarding Iran’s nuclear situation, allegations of support for terrorism, termination of support for forces in Lebanon and Iraq” than to yield to reform at home, London-based consultants Menas Associates said in a May research report.
Sources say this message was delivered at a recent Athens academic conference, which included US and Israeli delegates, by Mohsen Rezaie, ex-Revolutionary Guards chief, now secretary of the Expediency Council headed by Rafsanjani, a powerful conservative-leaning body that rules in legislative disputes.
Rezaie has also made a number of public comments suggesting Iran could deal directly with Washington.
In remarks published in a newspaper on Sunday he said Iran must weigh “the opportunities and not only the threats” when considering US-Iran relations.
Flynt Leverett, a former National Security Council member who attended the Athens conference, is among those warning that assumptions Iran is ripe for “regime change” may be overblown.
“What worries me is that a ‘regime change’ policy may not work in a timeframe that allows for achieving what we seek,” which includes stopping Iran from being able to make nuclear weapons, he was quoted as saying in the Christian Science Monitor newspaper.
“Broad-based strategic dialogue has a better chance but I see no one (in the administration) willing to plea for that.”—Reuters
