Ahmadinejad Says He Welcomes Idea of U.S.

[Canuck_Buck]

TEHRAN, Iran"” Iranian state TV is quoting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying Iran would welcome the idea of setting up a U.S. diplomatic office in Tehran.[/b]

Sunday's report quotes the firebrand Iranian leader as saying he would consider an American request to set up an interests section in Iran. He says he "welcomes any move to expand ties."

But Ahmadinejad says his government hasn't received any official request for such an office.
Last month, U.S. officials floated the idea but no formal requests were made.

Iran has operated an interests section in Washington for years. But the U.S. hasn't had any diplomatic presence in Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and hostage-taking at the U.S. Embassy there.

.....well well well, what do we have here?

[Phil from Maine]

Perhaps they are in need of more hostages to keep from having a war start there..???

[The Rev]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad feels left out like Jesse Jackson did!

[Fieldmouse]

This too is nothing really new. It will be located in another embasy just like the one in cuba. It's meant to allow more people from Iran to visit the US.

[Champlain Islander]

Burned once in 1979 with an embassy there. Getting burned twice is just plain stupid. They are top on the list of terrorist countries. Are we starting to negotiate with terrorists now? Vote for Obama and that will be the way we go.

[Alsatian]

I don't follow this stuff real closely, but I have heard that there is some arrangement for our negotiators to meet in Geneva. We had formerly insisted on specific pre-conditions; Iran had adamantly refused to accept pre-conditions. I understand we have discarded our pre-conditions. If you think about it, what are the chances these guys are really thinking they are going to get the bomb and start throwing their weight around? Is this more likely or are they angling for some advantageous concessions for discontinuing their bomb efforts? Well, I certainly don't know. I do trust that others with a vital stake -- Israel -- have a very clear understanding of what is going on and will take care of business, if necessary. Maybe Ahmadinejad is just rattling his sword to get some good press and some attention from the west?

[Champlain Islander]

You might be on to something. North Korea pretty much thumbed their noses at us and stood their ground through all the sanctions. It drove their people into poverty with a resulting food and energy shortage. They continued to develop the bomb and after their somewhat unsuccessful test they gained status as a nuke nation and had more to bargain with.Today sanctions are being removed and it doesn't matter how many bombs they have or had. Kind of like what free agency does to the pocket book of a pro ball player.