Is a nuclear policy shift in the offing in Iran? Times Online’s Tehran reporters say it’s on the table:
IRAN’S supreme leader is considering a change of policy on the country’s nuclear programme in an effort to defuse growing tension with the West, according to senior sources in Tehran.
Alarmed by mounting US pressure and United Nations sanctions, officials close to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei favour the appointment of a more moderate team for international negotiations on the supervision of its nuclear facilities.
The move would be a snub to the bellicose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose threats to destroy Israel have left Iran increasingly isolated and facing a serious economic downturn.
Ahmadinejad didn’t do well in the last elections. So perhaps this is also a sign of the fact that the voters may have reduced his clout — at least in the eyes of the person in Iran who can checkmate Ahmadinejad’s plans and/or rhetoric:
Tehran sources said the impetus for a policy switch was coming from Khamenei, who has ultimate power over Iran’s foreign policy, security and armed forces.
Khamenei is said to believe that Washington’s aim is not only to halt Iran’s nuclear programme but to overthrow the regime.
He also considers the national interest is being undermined by an inexperienced president whose rhetoric is unnecessarily inflammatory.
Under proposals now being debated, an international group made up of the permanent five members of the UN security council, plus Germany or a nuclear power such as India, would oversee and monitor Iran’s nuclear programme.
If this happens it’ll be interesting in several ways. For one thing, it would indicate that the tough talk from the Bush administration did have some impact. Still, at this point, though this is a fascinating report, there is no firm sign of a shift yet. Also note: many books written after 911 note the belief that Tehran has possibly played a quiet role for many years in helping foment and encourage international terrorism. It’s hard to play a “quiet role” when the person symbolizing your nation on the national stage is anything but quiet.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.