Signs and Wonders

So sweet indeed is the proclamation of Great Satan's Foreign Policy gurus that any tete' a tete with Iran should be directed at the top cat - Supreme Leader.

Non profit jawflapping with Rafsanjani, Larinjani or even the fiery little rocketeer A Jad means nothing.

Ex (and perhaps future) Ambassador Dennis Ross drew a pic for 44:

"Everywhere you look in the Middle East today, Iran is threatening
U.S. interests and the political order. One Arab ambassador told me recently that the Iranians are reminding Arab leaders that America didn't help Fuad Siniora, the prime minister of Lebanon, or Mikheil Saakashvili, the president of Georgia, when they got into trouble -- that in fact Washington left them high and dry.

Iran, by contrast, is close by and not going anywhere."

If Preacher Command acts out like that now - reckon the havoc a nuke powered Mullahopolis harbinges.

"Tehran clearly wants nukes for both defensive and offensive
purposes. But it's not clear the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would sacrifice anything to get nuclear weapons.

In fact, history shows that his government responds to outside
pressure, restricting its actions when it feels threatened and taking advantage when it judges it can. "

A sweet hook up between 2 of Great Satan's premier think tanks - CFR and Saban @ Brookings unleased a massive missive "Restoring the Balance". All the superfly stars are out - including Ken Pollack, Michael O'Hanlon (these 2 cats were the first cats to tour Iraq and report Surge totally rocked) Richard Haass, Stephen Biddle, and Martin Indyk.

Suzanne Maloney and Ray Takeyh tackle the Persian problem in chapter 3

"Any new approach to Iran must be grounded in the recognition that no
movement on the core issues of interest to the United States will be possible without the approval of Iran’s supreme leader."

Understanding that Khamenei is the appropriate starting point for any
American engagement clarifies the task but also underscores the challenges.

Although Khamenei has condoned talks with Washington in recent
years, his writings and public rhetoric since 1979 contain nothing that
would suggest he harbors any positive sentiments toward Washington."

Supreme Leader's Foreign Policy site reveals quite a few hints:

Seyed Sadeq Kharrazi, the former Iranian ambassador to France

"The truth is that solving the problems between Iran and the US needs
a mutual understanding. A three decades old crisis cannot be solved overnight.

The most important step that the US can take in this regard is putting an end to confrontation with Iran, freeing Iran’s blocked assets and ending the sanctions imposed on Iran."

Hamid Reza Dehqani Poodeh, the head of Persian Gulf and ME studies center in Iran’s foreign ministry gives pretty clear bounderies on that 'understanding'.

Essentially recognising Iran's shia crescent from Persia to the Med and Red Seas.

"Saudi Arabia doesn’t support full intervention of U.S. in the region for
security establishment; Iran believes it deserves to be the chief regional
power.

"Iraq, once vying for Arab leadership, doesn’t have the potential to reassert the claim because of its geopolitical limitations in the Persian Gulf, passing of its oil pipes from rivals’ territories and most important of all, internal problems emerged after invasion.

Iran's Foreign Policy recent study "The Iranian Role in the Regional Stability"
concludes:

"It is undeniable that Iran plays and will play a key role in shaping the
new regional balance in the Middle East, and even more so considering that the Iranian political stability is a factor that few states in the region can show."

Art - "Mehdi Mind Trick"