Iranian–American Negotiation Without Government Presence Possible

Less than a week ago, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President and his foreign minister, gave a news speech concerning the probable changes in Iran-U.S. relations. Ahmadinejad said he believes the reestablishment U.S. interest in Iran is worthy of investigation and Mottaki, Foreign Minister of the 9th government, announced new and different voices are being heard from within the US.

Only three days after Ahmadinejad’s announcements in a television appearance, he debated a possible execution of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. in the near future. However, he also stated that these talks would be taking place without the presence of both governments. Thus, it can be concluded that no specific changes shall take place in the ties between the two countries, although it must be noted that the scientific, academic and economic activist groups of both countries have had relations and dialogue with one another. In his television appearance, Ahmadinejad stated, “We have received several messages from the U.S. and negotiations in various fields with the U.S. are feasible in near future.” He remarked that, “Even if the U.S. media presents this issue negatively, we declare that these negotiations are not negative in scope. Of course these talks do not take place at a governmental level and may be carried out in many different fields.”

Concerning this issue, The Guardian reported that as a part of what is seen as George Bush’s notable diplomatic change towards Iran, the U.S. is contemplating a diplomatic presence in Iran for the first time in thirty years. Islam in North America (ISNA) reports that The Guardian’s story continues, stating, “The news of the reestablishment of the U.S. interest in Iran will break out next month. As a result of this move, U.S. diplomats will be stationed in Iran.” According to this report, the news of a change in diplomacy by the U.S. President, who has had a militant approach towards Iran during his presidential term, has come out during very critical point in Iran-U.S. relations. The report continues, ”Bush has had a very stubborn approach towards Iran during the last seven years. But it seems like he is intending to leave a positive trace during his last days of presidency.” After this report was posted, the U.S. Foreign Ministry refrained from approving the rumor, which suggests the U.S. is intending to send diplomats to Tehran.

The BBC reports that Ann Somerset, the U.S. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, in an interview with the BBC Persian in Washington DC, has stated that she can neither confirm, nor disconfirm the issue. These reports where being debated when the U.S. declared it was sending a delegate to attend the nuclear talks between Javier Solana, the E.U. Foreign Policy Chief and Saeed Jalili, Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator in Geneva.