Anti-Iran attitudes around the world are now being transformed into pro-Iran sentiments, at least according to Mohammad Nahavandian, President Rohani’s chief of staff.
In an interview on state television Saturday, he boasted that the efforts of the Rohani Administration have changed attitudes toward Iran in the international community.
Today, he said, European countries are racing to establish ties with Iran, which is not true since ties are frozen as a result of sanctions and Iran’s nuclear program.
Nahavandian said officials from many countries are expressing their interest in cooperating with Iran and calling for the speedy removal of anti-Iran sanctions. The Iranian media almost daily report such remarks by foreign officials, but ignore the fact that the comments are linked to a solution of the nuclear issue.
Nahavandian said such calls for an end to sanctions are even raised in the US, though he avoided saying how rare such calls are or how little supported they are in opinion surveys.
Nahavandian also claimed that many countries are accused of terrorism while Iran is no longer mentioned in this connection, as a result of Rohani Administration efforts. Quite the opposite, he said, many countries are now looking to Iran to lead the anti-terrorism campaign.
The dominant commentary in international circles in recent months has been outright amusement that the United States and Iran find themselves on the same side in fighting one terrorist organization, the Islamic State. But the Iran Times has not seen calls for Iran to lead that effort, and the combined campaign of about 60 countries has been assembled by the United States with the Islamic Republic specifically excluded.