Dialogue Seen Between Iran and the West

It is likely that the West and Iran will open a dialogue in the near future, said an August 9 op-ed article in the pro-government newspaper Al-Watan. Western countries want to speak to Iran sooner or later because of the Islamic Republic’s effective and influential role in the region, wrote columnist Khorshid Dalli.



The United States needs Iran’s intervention in Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and the whole region, he said. The West understands that it needs to deal with Tehran because it is rich in oil and gas and controls the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway in the Gulf.



Before the June presidential elections in Iran, western countries, especially the US, wanted to curb the role and power of Tehran ahead of any dialogue over Iran’s alleged nuclear programme, he said.



He added that Tehran wanted to talk to the west on the basis of equality among nations while western countries wanted to separate the nuclear question from other regional issues.



Another opinion piece in the official Al-Thawra newspaper said that western countries should stop intervening in Iranian affairs.



In an August 10 column, Ahmad Dawa said that the recent unrest in Iran exposed the meddling of foreign powers in the Iranian presidential elections in an attempt to sap Iranian authority and shake the stability of the country.



He said that western nations had planned the instigation of street unrest months before the election.



The author said that the reliance of western countries on internal groups in places like Iran to induce changes that are favourable to them did not serve international stability and security.