A political commentator says the administration of US President Barack Obama is determined to engage in diplomacy with Iran despite pressure from Israel, Press TVreports.I think President Obama is determined to move the Iran engagement policy forward irrespective of the Israelis pressure, Kaveh Afrasiabi said.
He pointed to the upcoming negotiations between Iran and Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany, scheduled to be held in Geneva on October 15 and 16, and expressed hope that the two sides would follow the talks in good faith.
There are some positive signs coming from the Obama administration and at the same time this shutdown, I think, has an overall contradictory effect with respect to Iran because President Obama has canceled this for he is preoccupied with domestic and economic problems and I think that he will have less of a direct role in managing Irans file more than he would like to and as he has stated in the past couple of weeks, Afrasiabi stated.
The political commentator described as very significant the latest remarks by US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, who is the chief US representative in the negotiations with Iran, who told senators on Thursday to delay considering a new anti-Iran sanctions legislation until after the upcoming talks later this month.
What Wendy Sherman said at a Foreign Relations hearing is very significant because she also added that the US is ready to lift some of the sanctions if Iran takes some concrete verifiable actions to slow down their enrichment activity and so on, Afrasiabi said.
On September 27, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Obama held a landmark telephone conversation mainly focusing on Irans nuclear energy program.
It was the first direct communication between an Iranian and a US president since the victory of Irans Islamic Revolution more than three decades ago.
The two presidents stressed Tehran and Washingtons political will to swiftly resolve the dispute over Irans nuclear energy program, which the United States, Israel and some of their allies claim includes a military component. Iran has categorically rejected the allegation.
By Press TV
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