Iran Surveys U.S. Policies

Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Manouchehr Mottaki said that Iran is surveying announced American policies. Based on Mottaki’s statements, the Islamic Republic will describe its opinion on these policies after surveying them.

The new U.S. administration has sent messages within the last 10 days saying they are trying to find a way to settle some affairs with Iranian authorities via direct negotiation.

President Barack Obama said if Iranian authorities “open their fist,” America will “extend [its] hand” toward them.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in response to Obama’s suggestion, requested an apology for American policies toward Iran during the last 60 years.

IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) reported that today, Mottaki participated in a journalistic conference with Khaled Mashal, leader of Hamas. Mottaki said new conditions regarding relations with the U.S. are important. These new conditions will be decided after Iran observes announced and executed U.S. policies.

Mottaki rejected reports of possible negotiations between Ali Larijani, Head of Majlis [Parliament], and American authorities during a security conference in Munich.

Some analysts presumed that in Larijani’s trip to the Munich conference, which Vice President Joe Biden is at, will lead to some meetings between Iranian delegations with German representatives and America. However, Mottaki denied all reports and analysis about this. He said negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in Munich are not the point of the conference (they don’t have any plan for it).

The Munich Security Conference will be held from Feb. 6 to 8. As of press time, 73 international figures such as presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, defense ministers, ambassadors and assembly agents have confirmed their presence at the conference.

While denying such reports by Iran’s foreign minster, France’s news agency, quoting the Pugwash Group, reported that Iranian and American authorities secretly met four times in 2008. They also reported that the focus of these negotiations was Iran’s nuclear program.

Yesterday Iranian Information Minister Golam Hossein Eje’eii, in reaction to these reports, didn’t deny secret Iranian-American negotiations.