If Iran was sponsoring terrorist groups who stated aim was the total destruction of the Commonwealth of Australia, and if those terrorists were shooting rockets every day into Australian cities with the express purpose of killing our civilians, then you can bet that Australia would be making "negative statements" about Iran too.

My take is that the Mullahs in Iran are in trouble. Their economy is stagnant, the young people are restless, and their client state in Assad's Syria is in danger of falling. If Assad goes, this will reduce their capacity to wage a proxy war on Israel. They need to get the Euros and the yanks to withdraw their economic sanctions, and they think that holding out a false olive branch will get our weak and vacillating politicians to do that.

If it works and the economic sanctions are withdrawn, that should help their economy a lot and buy them more time to build a nuclear weapon that they can give to Hezbollah for peaceful purposes.

LEGO it is all BS. The USA is the most powerful country on the planet by far. They have 800 bases around the planet and have the most weapons. Syria and Iran are pimples on the backside of a US elephant.

Russia and China have realised that they will be next in the domino fall caused by US imperialism. This is why WW3 is staring us in the face. So get real and start confronting the truth.

>>Groups inside Israel as well as the Israeli lobby in the United States are trying to hamper a possible détente between Tehran and Washington.>>

Well Iran's real dictator, Khamenei doesn't seem too happy either.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/05/20830551-khamenei-praises-rouhanis-un-visit-but-says-some-behavior-not-correct?lite

On the other hand things have not gone well for Iran lately. The thought of a Saudi aligned regime in Syria must scare the pants off them as must the resurgence of Saudi-aligned Sunni militias in Iraq.

Their cats paw in Lebanon,Hezbollah, has suffered a rude decline in prestige. Most Lebanese do not want to be dragged into wars, be it with Syria or Israel, because Hezbollah's paymasters in Tehran say they must.

The economy is in the toilet. Oil production is down from what it was in the days of the Shah and they're having difficulty selling even that. New pipelines and oil terminals mean that Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni ruled Gulf States will shortly be able to bypass the Straits of Hormuz neutralising Iran's greatest strategic weapon.

And their standing in the "Arab Street" has plummeted.

Above all their main raison detre for for building nukes, Saddam Hussein, is long gone.

My own feeling is that many in Iran might be saying their best course of action is to re-establish their alliance with the US and - dare I say it - Israel.

Hi Steven,

Yes, it's unthinkable and abhorrent, but on the opportunist, but sensible, principle that one's second -worst enemy is better than one's worst enemy, is it possible that the US and Iran may seek a detente, given that their mutual worst enemy is the Islamists, al-Nusra, al-Qa'ida etc. ?

And is it possible that that may mean a rapprochement between the US and Assad ? And, by extension, a rapprochement between the Israelis and Assad ? Would that isolate Hamas or what ?

i.e. a loose coalition between the US, Syria's Assad, Iran, the Russians and Hezbollah, lined up against the Islamists across the region. Bleccchhh !

Politics can sometimes be a ghastly business, choosing between evils.

Of course, if the above scenario ever plays out, the sticking point for the Yanks would be how to soothe the aspirations of the Saudis. Perhaps oodles of non-military aid.

Bring on the genuine Islamic revolution !

Joe

Loudmouth,

I'm not sure that the US and Iran are still "enemies." What have they got to fight about now?

For that matter what do Israel and Iran have to fight about now?

Please don't tell me the Iranian regime is concerned for the welfare of the Palestinians. Those thugs don't give a rodent's rectum about the Palestinians. It was all grandstanding to gain street cred in the Arab world and counter the influence of their real strategic rival, Saudi Arabia. However that initiative seems to be in tatters.

Iran and Israel used to do business in the days of the Shah who, I assure you, was no more fond of Jews than the mullahs. But he was pragmatic.

For that matter the mullahs did business with the Israelis during the Iran-Iraq war when they needed spare parts for their air force.

Probably the biggest obstacle to a rapprochement with the US is the mullahs own feelings of insecurity. It's a corrupt thuggish regime that has diminishing legitimacy. Any reform movement could easily get out of control and see them lose their privileged position.

And make no mistake, the mullahs do very well out of the status quo.

Hi Steven,

I fully agree. Complete agreement between all parties may not come next week, maybe the week after :)

But who are the worst enemies of the US in the region ? The Islamists, right ?

Who are the worst, most dangerous, most insidious, enemies of the Iranian 'thugs' and reactionaries ? The Islamists, right ?

Who are currently the most dangerous enemies of the Assad dictatorship ? The Islamists, right ?

Who, out of a huge vast range of enemies, is Israel's worst enemies in the region ? Ultimately, the Islamists, is that so ?

So win-win-win ! The US and Israel hop into bed with Iran and Assad, even with Hezbollah. The major problem might be the jilted Saudis who are happy to be in bed, getting it from both the Islamists, despite all their protests of innocence, and the US, at the same time. So can they be schmoozed ?

Joe