http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/secure/2013/09_25/do.asp ****
** ** *Iran's foreign minister tied to secret dialogue with U.S. administration ** * [image: http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/images/2013/zarif1.jpg] **** *Deemed the pro-Western face of the Rowhani government, the Iranian foreign minister has acknowledged sending greetings to Iranian Jews for the Jewish New Year as well as corresponding with Americans close to President Barack Obama. * ------------------------------ Mohammed Javad Zarif**** Task: Iran Minister of Foreign Affairs **** Assumed Office: August 15, 2013 **** Age: 53 **** WASHINGTON — Moscow role in the recent Syria crisis has been well reported. What is perhaps more significant is Iran's influence in the suspension of a U.S. air campaign on the Assad regime. **** The dialogue between Obama and Teheran has moved from one of virtual secrecy to that where messages are exchanged through U.S. allies in the Gulf. In essence, Washington is deferring to Iran on the most critical Middle East issues. **** Officials and analysts said Washington and Teheran have expanded their dialogue, particularly on Syria. They said the dialogue consisted of both direct messages as well as those sent through Middle East and other leaders. **** "There has been a steady exchange of messages, and with the election of [Iranian] President [Hassan] Rowhani, we are hopeful that this will become more frequent and meaningful," an official said. **** On Sept. 9, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif acknowledged that his government was engaged in a dialogue with the United States. Zarif said the two countries were exchanging messages but did not have plans for direct talks. **** "Currently there is no such intention," Zarif said. **** [On Sept. 14, Russia and the United States reported an agreement for the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons by mid-2014. Under the accord, the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad would be given one week to declare its CW stockpile, the subject of a dispute between Moscow and Washington.] * *** Zarif was believed to be the main interlocutor of the United States. Deemed the pro-Western face of the Rowhani government, the Iranian foreign minister has acknowledged sending greetings to Iranian Jews for the Jewish New Year as well as corresponding with Americans close to President Barack Obama. **** [image: http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/images/2013/zarif2.jpg] **** *Iranian President Hassan Rowhani with Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif. ***** ------------------------------ In September, Zarif received a Tweet from the daughter of U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Christine Pelosi, whose mother is regarded as close to Obama, wrote Zarif that his New Year greetings were insufficient to assuage American Jews. **** "The New Year would be even sweeter if you would end Iran's Holocaust denial," Christine wrote. **** Zarif's reply was swift and suggested a new policy by Teheran. "Iran never denied it," the foreign minister said on Twitter. "The man [former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] who did is now gone. Happy New Year." **** The Obama administration has not confirmed the dialogue with Iran. But officials pointed to reports of Obama sending messages to Rowhani through foreign leaders, including Oman's Sultan Qaboos. **** Analysts asserted that Obama sent a high-level envoy directly to Teheran in late August. The envoy was identified as former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman, who served as ambassador to Lebanon. **** A leading U.S. analyst on the Middle East, citing the Iranian media, said both Feltman and Qaboos could have sent messages from Obama to Rowhani. Mehrzad Boroujerdi, director of the Middle Eastern Studies program at Syracuse University, said the White House might have sought Iranian restraint concerning the war in Syria. **** "There were two important visitors in Iran — one a former U.S. official who's now serving the UN and then the sultan of Oman," Boroujerdi said. "And the rumor mill in Teheran seems to indicate that both of these gentlemen might have carried messages back and forth between Iran and the U.S., which is not inconceivable considering the U.S. interests, wanting to make sure that Iran doesn't do anything crazy when it comes to the Syrian conflict." **** The administration has already signaled its intention to ease restrictions on engaging with Iran. On Sept. 10, the Treasury Department issued two licenses for U.S. exports to facilitate humanitarian aid to and sporting events with Iran. **** "This action further demonstrates this administration's commitment to reinforcing ties between the Iranian and American people," Treasury said. ** ** Some of the analysts linked Obama's acceptance of a Russian plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons stockpile to consultations with Iran. They said the administration, despite an initial Obama effort for air strikes, determined that any major attack on the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad could harm U.S. reconciliation with Teheran. **** "Iran must be involved one way or another, whether it's through direct or indirect negotiations," Alireza Nader, a specialist on Iran at the Rand Corp., said. ** ** ** __._,_.___ __,_._,___ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
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