President insists on preconditions before USA-Iran negotiations
I also offer a prediction. Here is how Ahmadinejad's "new" stance on Israeli-Palestinian negotions is being reportedIn an about-face from his previous stance on the matter, Ahmadinejad said that there would be preconditions for any negotiations between his country and the United States.
The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says it will be "fine with us" if the Palestinians reach a two-state peace deal with Israel.The prediction? There will be a clarification or new statement from Ahmadinejad that will make it crystal clear that he didn't really mean it as it is being reported. We saw it already with Fidel Castro's clarification on what Obama said concerning Raul Castro's comments on negotiations with USA. If Aljazeera ever runs a similar story, I may be more willing to concede that Ahmadinejad really believes these words, but as of right now, there's nothing of the sort to be seen on their website. Aljazeera's most recent story to mention the Iranian president is on the rise of right-wing extremism in Europe, and it concludes with this observation:
And when world leaders, such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, cast doubt on the Holocaust, as he did in Geneva this week, it suddenly becomes a whole lot easier for the far right to follow in his wake.
[Update] Perhaps this explains Ahmadinejad's new softly softly approach
Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told Congress recently “Our current estimate is that the minimum time at which Iran could technically produce the amount of highly enriched uranium for a single weapon is 2010 to 2015.”
[Further update] Compare this AP story from Iranian journalist Nasser Karimi, filed in Tehran.
Washington has not sent Iran sufficient signals on whether the U.S. wants warmer relations and President Barack Obama's support for Israel during its offensive in Gaza was "a major mistake," Iran's president said in an interview broadcast Sunday.The "fine with us" comment and any mention of a two state solution is absent from the story.

Who would have thought that when Candidate Obama promised to sit down with the Iranians without preconditions, it was meant as a bargaining position, not a concession?
Comment by Prof X — April 29, 2009 @ 2:43 am