July 15th, 2008 by Sarah

Today, Fars News Agency (Iran) reports that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is interested in having direct talks, without preconditions, with the U.S. “if they come to us on equal footing.”

In regard to a possible Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran, Gwynne Dyer at Arab News is skeptical and argues that Iran “clearly concluded that all the American and Israeli threats to attack them are mere bluff.”  Dyer believes Iran’s recent missile testing is merely a cost-free strategy to strengthen Iran’s support domestically.

Meanwhile, an editorial in The Jordan Times recommends that “diplomacy must be given more time to work out a solution to the crisis, especially when there are signs that the Iranian authorities will blink first.”

However John Bolton argues in the Wall Street Journal that “instead of debating how much longer to continue five years of failed diplomacy, we should be intensively considering what cooperation the U.S. will extend to Israel before, during and after a strike on Iran. We will be blamed for the strike anyway, and certainly feel whatever negative consequences result, so there is compelling logic to make it as successful as possible. At a minimum, we should place no obstacles in Israel’s path, and facilitate its efforts where we can.”

In regard to using Afghanistan as a possible launching pad for such an attack, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in an interview with Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, states that “Afghanistan would never like its soil to be used against another country,” emphasizing his desire to remain on good terms with both Iran and the United States.

Posted in Afghanistan, Diplomacy, Iran, Israel, Military |