Obama Surprises the World with an Offer of Peace to the Iranians

Obama offers Iran a new beginning in relations, the most direct offer to Tehran in 30 years of confrontations.

United States presidents have always liked to utilize important dates to deliver great speeches and launch messages to their nation. So Barack Obama must have thought that the day of Iran’s most important holiday, the “Nowruz,” which coincides with the New Year celebration on the Persian calendar, was the ideal moment to address the Ayatollahs. Yes, the group Washington broke diplomatic relations with more than thirty years ago when a group of Islamic students occupied the Unites States embassy in Tehran and detained 52 North American diplomats as hostages for 444 days.

Yesterday, Barack Obama wanted to address this country. He made a video in English that lasted more than three minutes, but with subtitles in Farsi. Perhaps it also should have included translations into Hebrew, Russian, Chinese and German. Not in vain, for both Israel and the European Union, as well as Russia and China, followed very closely a broadcast that can overturn the international situation, which is dependent on an Iran that continues despite sanctions and warnings against its program of uranium enrichment.

The Democrat began his message with a celebratory greeting to the Persians. “This holiday (for the Iranian New Year) is both an ancient ritual and a moment of renewal and I hope that you enjoy this special time with friends and family,” Obama began festively, but immediately after he addressed the leaders of the Islamic Republic in a more formal tone. “In this season of new beginnings, I would like to speak clearly to Iran’s leaders. We have serious differences that have grown over time,” he recognized in his message. It is not yet known the real impact it has had on Iran, precisely because in these days of celebration there is almost no press. Iranian public television has not yet broadcasted it, overwhelmed by the holidays, and Iranians do not usually pay attention to the news since they constantly receive visits from their relatives. You can see the message on Youtube, but it is prohibited in Iran.

A shame, because it is all a declaration of beginnings: “My administration is now committed to diplomacy and to pursuing constructive ties between the United States, Iran and the international community. This will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead an engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect,” said Obama, surprising North American analysts who had not dared even to speculate on this development. Now, the most conservative politicians wonder if the Democrat will find a diplomatic solution before Tehran is capable of completing the technological infrastructure that allows it to develop nuclear arms.