21 July 2009 / ZAMAN MEHMET YILMAZ,
Why are we spending so much time talking about how Iran's leaders have not reached an agreement amongst themselves?
Because for the past 30 years, Iran has been guided by its own logic when it comes to its policies on the US. So what is that logic? At the basis of this logic is the continuation of the Islamic Republic and the elimination of threats to this republic. And of course, the prime threat at this point is the US. As the US tries to besiege Iran from all sides, Iran responds with a series of “disincentive” or “deterrent” policies it has developed at home. And while doing all this, Iran is quite careful to never -- absolutely never -- be left to face the US alone. Instead, by cooperating with powerful entities such as the European Union, Russia, China and India, Iran attempts to balance America's policies. And up until now, this strategy has been successful. But what about in the future? I suppose the answer to this question lies not only in the response that will come to the “new” US stance, which aims to squeeze Tehran into a corner and change its classic mentality, but also in the fact that Barack Obama is paying much more attention than his predecessor to the regime change fears in Iran.
