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Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-analyst-qa7-2009apr07,0,110563.story
Obama's Strategy Might Undermine Iranian Hard-Liners
[Los Angeles Times] Borzou Daragahi - The U.S. government is pursuing a high-stakes gambit to improve relations with Iran. While many are doubtful that the diplomatic outreach will resolve 30 years of differences between Tehran and Washington, political scientist Sadegh Zibakalam, who heads the department of Iranian studies at Tehran University, said Obama's strategy just might work, by undermining the worldview of Iranian hard-liners. "If there is rapprochement between Iran and the United States, then the hard-liners would receive a psychological blow because they can no longer claim that Iran is waging its historical crusade or struggle against an unjust world power," he said. The Iranian leadership is divided over the question of relations with the U.S. The hard-liners are championed and led by the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is simply disregarding Obama's olive branch and is saying the animosity, the war, must be carried on.