From today’s Washington Post — here’s to hoping for the best:
The two U.S. interventions in countries that share long borders with Iran have galvanized a rethinking of policy in Washington and Tehran, officials and analysts say. Iran’s agreement in December to allow surprise inspections by U.N. arms experts to verify that Tehran is not producing nuclear weapons also changed the atmospherics.
“Iran’s acceptance of the terms was important, because it indicated a willingness to engage with the international community and a flexibility on controversial issues that we’ve not seen before,” said Shaul Bakhash of the Brookings Institution.
Since then, Washington provided rescue personnel and aid after an earthquake leveled the historic city of Bam, killing 40,000, and offered to send a high-level humanitarian delegation led by Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and including a Bush family member. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi met with Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) last month at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, while last week Specter and Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) co-hosted Iranian U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif at a Capitol Hill dinner, a visit approved by the Bush administration. Also in the works is a visit by Iran’s soccer team for games against D.C. United and the L.A. Galaxy in April.
