Obama and Iran: Plant the tree of Friendship or

Obama and Iran: Plant the tree of Friendship or Hostility?

Plant the tree of friendship that bears the fruit of fulfillment; uproot the sapling of enmity that bears endless suffering.”  Hafez

Obama faces with different challenges and Iranian nuclear issue is one of them. He understands that Iran will not surrender to the US pressures. Iranian believes their nuclear program is peaceful and a demonstration of their independency, like nationalization of Iranian oil sixty years ago.

The program is important for all Iranians, even those who are in opposition. The US must consider the wish and demand of Iranian people.

In fact the main problem for America is not Iranian nuclear program.  And Obama understand it as well.  He maybe interested in finding a peaceful solution but this approach is not in harmony with the US congress. Israeli lobby try to focus Obama’s attention to the Middle Easten issues, especially Iran.  But the real danger for the US stems from East Asia.  China as a newborn economic superpower gradually is becoming a military superpower and in near future there will be no country to be able to mange and control it.

           Obama in his message for Iranian new year quoted: now is the time for the Iranian government to take immediate and meaningful steps to reduce tensions and work toward an enduring, long-term settlement of the nuclear issue." But the obstacle is still in the US. Obama try to say that we are ready to find a diplomatic solution. However, does Obama have enough authority to solve these differences between Iran and the US?

He faces with two obstacles on the Iranian nuclear issue: First, the US congress and Israeli lobby at home; second, Israel and some other countries in the Middle East.

Some Congressman from both republican and democrat parties are still following the Bush idea. If there is any hope for a peaceful resolution of the nuclear dispute with Iran, President Obama needs the Congress to support negotiations. But negotiations and compromise are largely anathema in Washington, with many lawmakers insisting that any deal with Iran would be unacceptable.

Obama quotes a poem of Hafez well known Iranian poems:   Plant the tree of friendship. But at the same time the congress prepares a hostile bipartisan bill against Iran. There is also another Senate resolution sponsored by Robert Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Lindsey Graham, a Republican. It says that if Israel “is compelled to take military action in self-defense, the United States government should stand with Israel and provide diplomatic, military and economic support to the government of Israel in its defense of its territory, people and existence.”

  That’s why Iran is right about the hostile policy in the US and   does not consider the reconciliation policy seriously. From Iranian point of view there is no differences between Obama from the democrat party and the other republicans in the US and they are all continue a hostile policy toward Iran.   Is it the way to plant tree of friendship? I don’t think so and the Iranian people also don’t understand this contradictory messages. If the US is interested in following a double-track approach, they have to understand that it will not work over Iran and Iran also has the right to defend itself against any attack. Instabilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria are expanding to the entire Middle East and it may spread to other parts of the world.

 On the other hand, Israel and some Arab countries are afraid of the 

revival of relation between Iran and the US. These countries are concerned about the decrease of US economic and security support for themselves.

Iran is a rational regional player in the region and in the most of regional crises like Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia made rational decision and had the same position as the US and in many cases negotiated with the US. But   in all these matters the US officials forgot the Iranian goodwill and contribution to solve the problems and tried to ignore the Iranian regional and global role. This time I hope the US be serious and try to understand the goodwill of Iran and reciprocate. Otherwise, Obama administration will also just plant another tree of hostility with more suffering.