TEHRAN, April 13: Comments by Iran’s powerful former president on mechanisms to resume ties with the United States have been taken by some as a sign that the war in Iraq has jolted the Iranian republic into serious discussion over the decades-old problem.

In an interview with an official periodical, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani suggested putting the future of US-Iran relations to a referendum, backed up by a decision on the thorny issue by Iran’s top echelon.

Although the Rahbord (Strategy) journal said its interview with Rafsanjani was conducted before the war in Iraq began three weeks ago, its publication came just after the fall of Baghdad.

“We missed certain opportunities, or took late or wrong measures or even did not take action,” Rafsanjani said in the interview, in an apparent reference to the past failures of both Iran and the US to thaw relations.

“Our ideology is flexible,” Rafsanjani asserted.

The timing was not lost on many observers, and the former president’s comments, which were picked up by the official news agency IRNA, hit the front pages of most reformist papers here.

Even though Rafsanjani did not openly call for ties to be restored, his comments marked a change of tone from the usual “Great Satan” references.

In an editorial, the pro-reform Iran News said it was “intrigued by the timing” of Rafsanjani’s comments, and wondered “whether Rafsanjani gave the go-ahead for the release of this story by IRNA coinciding with the downfall of the Baathist regime next door in Iraq”.—AFP