On a visit to Kazakhstan today, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he hoped President Barack Obama’s overtures for improved relations between the two nations would accomplish something, but that he was waiting for the US to change its policies as a sign the offer was sincere.
The Obama Administration has had a remarkably changeable attitude about the prospect of diplomacy with Iran, expressing hopes for reconciliation one day and then lashing out at the Iranian government the next. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the administration doesn’t really believe diplomacy will be successful.
Yet Ahmadinejad’s principle opponent in the upcoming presidential elections, Hossein Mousavi, believes his rival is making a mistake in being so cautious. Mousavi says he would negotiate with the United States, provided Iran is “not required to pay a heavy cost.” He added that he too would oppose abandoning the nation’s civilian nuclear program, seemingly the central demand the US would make in any talks.