Rahim-Mashaei heading to New York for negotiations

Niloufar

Football Legend
Oct 19, 2002
29,626
23
#1
Its really sad how U.S keeps negotiating with the same morons, and now paving the way for AN's U.S-friendly deputy(father of AN's daughter in-law)to come to New York. and on Norouz. :(

http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/03/iranian-regime-delegation-heading-to-new-york/

Iranian Regime Delegation Heading to New York

Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, March 11, 2011, 5:33 AM



Controversial Iranian Regime official Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai has applied for a visa to the US. Rahim-Mashai’s daughter is married to Ahmadinejad’s son Mahdi, a civil engineer in Iran. Mahdi is pictured above on the far left. That’s Mrs. Ahmadinejad in the white sheet.
Banafsheh Zand Bonazzi reported this at The Tatler:
While the Iranian regime’s propaganda apparatus continues to call the U.S., ‘The Great Satan’, BBC Persian reveals that Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, Ahmadinejad’s highly controversial chief of staff, has applied for a U.S. visa in order to travel to New York with a political delegation.
The Beeb writes:
“In an interview with the BBC, a high ranking official from the U.S. Department of State who wished to remain anonymous, has confirmed that an Iranian political delegation has applied for visas in order to travel to New York. Reliable sources have informed the offices of BBC Persian in Washington that the delegation will be headed by Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai. The aim of the delegation’s trip is to participate in the United Nations’ Earth Day which coincides with Norooz (the Iranian New Year) and according to the anonymous State Department source, it is likely that various meetings with American officials to discuss the prospect of the improvement of relations between the two countries will also take place. The U.S. Department of State has not yet announced whether the visa applications have been granted.”
Back in September Rahim-Mashai, whose daughter is married to Ahmadinejad’s son, accompanied Ahmadinejad to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly session.
 

ChaharMahal

Elite Member
Oct 18, 2002
16,563
261
#4
I don't think the U.S is in mood for any negotiation if a enrichment is not to be halted.

he may be able to visit some congreessman sitting on some committee, but that's gone be about it.
 
Aug 27, 2005
8,688
0
Band e 209
#6
"Obama Obama...yaa baa oonaa....yaa baa maa". Well I'm sorry to disappoint you but I must say so far he has proven to be "baa oonaa".

Why do you think Obama gave nothing more than few lip service to Iranian opposition, both in 2009 and 2011? He wants to withdraw majority of U.S troops from iraq by the end of this summer and needs to keep IRR on his side to make sure they won't get back in there and destabilize it all over again.
 
Feb 22, 2005
6,884
9
#7
I agree. Well put. Democracies cannot be controlled.

"Obama Obama...yaa baa oonaa....yaa baa maa". Well I'm sorry to disappoint you but I must say so far he has proven to be "baa oonaa".

Why do you think Obama gave nothing more than few lip service to Iranian opposition, both in 2009 and 2011? He wants to withdraw majority of U.S troops from iraq by the end of this summer and needs to keep IRR on his side to make sure they won't get back in there and destabilize it all over again.
 
Feb 22, 2005
6,884
9
#10
These are SOB. They know that US and UN are pushing to sending human rights inspectors to Iran. I think they are coming to the US to try to change that. This is one of the most serious situations for Iran. If Iran accepts the inspectors, then they have to let them into prisions, etc... which they will never do. If they do not accept them, then they are going against the UN and will have its cost. So, this SOB are coming to try to change that before the vote which I believe is on the 23rd.
 
Jun 7, 2004
3,196
0
#11
"Obama Obama...yaa baa oonaa....yaa baa maa". Well I'm sorry to disappoint you but I must say so far he has proven to be "baa oonaa".

Why do you think Obama gave nothing more than few lip service to Iranian opposition, both in 2009 and 2011? He wants to withdraw majority of U.S troops from iraq by the end of this summer and needs to keep IRR on his side to make sure they won't get back in there and destabilize it all over again.
Obama and his administration have said that they are on the side of IR, publicly, and repeatedly. It is not a matter of speculation. Instead it is a matter of Iranians once again projecting their wishes on reality. I am willing to bet that nearly all Iranians do not remember when Obama's spokesperson, at the height of the protests, once asked about Iran, said that "Ahmadinejad is the elected President of Iran."

Obama has been practically on his knees begging the IR to make up with him. "He is saying, just do a few things I am asking of you, and they are not big issues, the nuclear issue and seize sending arms to Hamas, and I will be behind you, you can do whatever else you like." The reason is that once again like many previous Democratic administrations, Jimmy Carter in particular, they cannot see past their noses beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict and they are weak. In such a world, Iran will always have to get sacrificed. In this case, Obama, a weak President and administration, is under pressure from Israel to do something about Iran. He does not want war and he cannot see nor has the will or the guts to try other options, so the only option he sees is to beg the IR to do a few things in return for big concessions.
 
Jun 7, 2004
3,196
0
#13
FP:
In what way was 8 years of Bush any different?
It was very, very different. With respect to US interests, it was even worse, much worse, as bad as Obama has proven to be, but worse in a different way. Bush was a terribly destructive force. He was essentially the continuation of the disastrous Nixon administration, except much more stupid and inept, much more vengeful and hateful, and with far greater disbelief and disregard for America, its constitution, and its freedom.

With respect to Iran's interests, very different, just as bad but in a different way. Had the uprising occurred during Bush's the response would be quite different. You even have the former Bush officials advocating a different path in the current events.

What is important is that we need to know each administration for what they are, not what we wish them to be, and sway them towards our own interests. As I've said before, without foreign help, there is very little chance of toppling the regime.
 

Zob Ahan

Elite Member
Feb 4, 2005
17,476
2,231
#15
A High-Level Iranian's U.S. Visit
March 14, 2011 | 2254 GMT PRINT Text Resize:
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BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Image
Iranian Presidential Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (L) with Iranian President Mahmoud AhmadinejadSummary
The chief of staff to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, will most likely visit the United States on March 18 to attend a Nowruz celebration at the United Nations. The visit comes at a critical time for the Persian Gulf region, which is seeing a U.S. troop withdrawal in nearby Iraq and whose Arab regimes are facing unrest among their Shiite populations. Mashaei’s visit could kick-start back-channel negotiations between Iran and the United States and its Sunni Arab allies.

Analysis
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, the chief of staff to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced March 14 that he most likely will travel to the United States on March 18 for an Iranian-sponsored Nowruz ceremony at the United Nations.

With the stakes rising in Bahrain and Iranian-fueled Shiite unrest simmering throughout the Persian Gulf region, Mashaei’s visit takes place at a critical juncture in U.S.-Iranian relations and could play a role in back-channel negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Mashaei is a relative of Ahmadinejad and his most trusted aide. Ahmadinejad has vociferously defended Mashaei since the summer of 2009 when he tried to appoint Mashaei as his first vice president. Mashaei quickly came under harsh criticism from members of the clerical elite for a statement in which he said the Islamic Republic was a “friend” to the Israelis. Though Ahmadinejad canceled the appointment under the pressure, he subsequently made Mashaei his chief of staff.

Mashaei’s visit comes as the Persian Gulf region remains in crisis, with the United States and its Arab allies attempting to block a covert Iranian strategy aimed at tipping the balance of power toward the Shia in eastern Arabia. A March 14 deployment of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) forces to Bahrain is designed to throw a wrench in the Iranian strategy, but Iran still has a number of covert assets at its disposal to fuel Shiite unrest in the region.

Tehran sees a historic opportunity to reshape the political reality in its Arab neighbors to favor the Shia given the unrest in the Gulf Arab states and the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, where Iranian influence already runs deep. Ultimately, Iran wants to demonstrate its leverage via the Shiite communities in the Persian Gulf states to pressure its Arab rivals and the United States, the dominant military power in the region, to negotiate an accommodation with Tehran on Iranian terms. Such an understanding would recognize Iran’s influence in Iraq and the surrounding region while providing Iran with significant economic leverage over energy assets in the region.

Iran would prefer to have such a dialogue sooner rather than later, as there are real constraints on how far they can take the destabilization campaign in the Persian Gulf. The U.S.-backed GCC countermove to deploy Sunni Arab forces to Bahrain has put Iran in a difficult position in trying to both sustain the momentum of the Shiite unrest in the Persian Gulf while also trying to avoid getting entangled in a much riskier and more overt conflict with its regional rivals.

The United States will want to level the playing field before attempting serious negotiations with Iran again, but it also faces a growing strategic need to ease its military burden in the region. The Sunni Gulf states are meanwhile looking to the United States as a counterbalance to the Iranians while trying to gauge whether the United States and Iran can come to some level of understanding that would safeguard their regimes and restrict Iranian meddling in their countries.

There are a number of reasons building for the United States and Iran to re-enter a quiet dialogue. Though there is no clear indication yet that this will result from Mashaei’s visit, Mashaei does have the ear of the Iranian president



Read more: A High-Level Iranian's U.S. Visit | STRATFOR