January 31-2014
Speaking to businessmen, politicians and reporters in Switzerland last week, President Rohani said Iran is determined to negotiate a comprehensive deal on its nuclear program so it can develop its battered economy.
He openly appealed to Western companies to seize opportunities now.
He even said he could foresee a day in which Iran and the United States would once again have full diplomatic relations.
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Rohani said Tehran was negotiating with the United States as part of a “constructive engagement” with the world.
However, he was unbending in his support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Ending “terrorism” backed by some of Syria’s neighbors was a precondition for any settlement of that country’s civil war, he said. Many analysts believe Rohani has been given a mandate to resolve the nuclear issue, but that Syrian policy remains under the sway of the Pasdaran.
Rohani’s appearance in the Swiss resort launched Phase Two of a charm offensive aimed at ending sanctions that are crippling Iran’s economy. Phase One was last September when he attended the UN General Assembly in New York.
Rohani stressed his commitment to achieving a final settlement of the nuclear issue. “Iran has a serious will to come to an agreement with the Big Six,” he told the assembled business and political leaders. “I do not see a serious impediment in the way of this agreement. The Iranian will is strong.”
Asked what might prevent a long-term settlement, he cited the risk of “pressure from other parties”—a thinly veiled reference to Israel.
Rohani broke no new diplomatic ground in his speech or in interviews in Davos. But he came across as reasonable and normal—in stark contrast with his predecessor.
At a separate meeting with US, European and Arab businessmen, Rohani said Iran was seeking investment—particularly in car manufacturing, oil and gas, petrochemicals, road and rail infrastructure and mining, one participant reported.
Rohani simply ignored a question from two US businessmen who said they held Israeli passports and asked if they could invest in Iran. He also refused, despite being pressed twice, to include Israel among states with which Iran sought friendly relations.
Asked in an interview on Swiss television if a US embassy could one day be opened in Tehran, Rohani said, “No animosity lasts eternally; nor does any friendship last eternally. So, we have to transform animosities into friendship.”
He said relations with Washington had been difficult in the past but the problems could be overcome with hard work and effort by both sides.
Rohani focused on portraying Iran as just another member of the world community with no ambitions to lord it over anyone else.
“Those who are under the influence of propaganda and still believe that Iran is seeking to implement power through fear and threats, or by developing nuclear weapons, to them I strongly declare that nuclear weapons and resorting to force have no place in our security strategy and that Iran has no motivation to move in that direction.
“A look at history also clearly shows that Iran has in the past centuries never launched any invasion or aggression and only engaged in active defense against threats and direct and indirect invasions,” he said.
Discussing the economy, he came off sounding much like the Shah 40 years ago, saying, “Iran’s economy has the potential to be among the world’s top 10 in the next three decades.”
He also showed a propensity for the loose use of statistics. He said, “The reality is that among developing countries and in the Middle East, Iran enjoys one of the highest figures in the Human Development Index.” Actually, in the 2013 index, Iran ranks 11th of the 21 states in the Middle East and North Africa.
