In a new column, international affairs analyst Jonathan Manthorpe writes of the remarkable developments today between Iran and the United States, at the United Nations in New York. But hopes for a thaw in the icy relationship are tempered by tough questions – and the reality that Hassan Rouhani does not have ultimate control of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Has Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei decided a functional relationship with the West is preferable to the armed animosity of the last three decades? If so, there’s little chance he’s changed his view of the world, or his ambitions for his country.
The column, in Commentary, can be accessed with a $1 day pass for the entire site, or by subscription.