Peace Plan
While those statements by Ahmadinejad drew the most media attention, in between the two points, he mentioned part of what was in an earlier Iranian peace initiative, "a free referendum in Palestine for determining and establishing the type of state in the entire Palestinian lands.
According to a source knowledgeable about the Iranian proposal, key elements of the Iranian peace plan were new elections in Palestine with the winner (even if it's Hamas) being accepted as the Palestinian representative; a peace conference in Russia with the goal of a two-state solution for the Palestinians and regional recognition of Israel; opening Iran's nuclear facilities for inspection; and lifting economic and diplomatic sanctions on Iran.
The proposal reportedly came from Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei and was to be pushed forward after the expected presidential election victory of Ahmadinejad in June. But the messy election aftermath complicated matters.
While it is unclear how President Obama feels about the Iranian initiative, he did mute his criticism of the Iranian post-election crackdown, at least initially. In a July 6-7 trip to Russia for meetings with President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Obama also made clear that Iran and Middle East peace were top issues to be discussed.
Obama also tamped down speculation that the United States had given a "green light to Israel to bomb Iran's nuclear sites. Obama told CNN that "we have said directly to the Israelis that it is important to try and resolve this in an international setting in a way that does not create major conflict in the Middle East."
In another interview, Obama indicated to the New York Times that he would press ahead with his policy of engaging Iran.
"We've got some fixed national security interests in Iran not developing nuclear weapons, in not exporting terrorism, and we have offered a pathway for Iran to rejoining the international community, Obama said.
The Times also confirmed what I had been told earlier about Iran's secret outreach to Obama.
"Before Iran's disputed election on June 12, the president's top aides say, they received backchannel indications from Iran " from emissaries who claimed to represent the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei " that the country would respond to Mr. Obama's overtures this summer, the Times reported. [NYT, July 6, 2009]
Unforced Errors
But Ahmadinejad's disparaging remarks about the Holocaust and Israel in September " followed by the disclosure of a new nuclear facility near Qum " increased pressure on both Obama and the Iranian government to show some immediate progress if the negotiations were to be salvaged.
Some of that progress appears to have been achieved, if only tentatively, with Iran's agreement to permit UN inspectors into the Qum facility on Oct. 25. Iran also has discussed exporting some of its nuclear fuel to other countries for processing, a step that would make it harder for Iran to refine enough fuel to levels needed for a nuclear bomb.
Iranian supporters say the steps show that Iran is telling the truth about wanting a nuclear industry for peaceful purposes, such as energy, not for building a bomb. However, many Western analysts remain skeptical.
If sufficient progress can be made on safeguards for Iran's nuclear program " and if Ahmadinejad can stop himself from making more offensive speeches " the Obama administration might be able to shift its focus to what it considers the core reason for instability in the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Then, Obama would have to hope that his odd coalition of peace partners can somehow hold together and overcome the opposition of the influential forces in favor of protecting something close to today's status quo.
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