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Analyst: Obama's Iran policy best in years

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 23 (UPI) -- The effort by U.S. President Barack Obama to engage Iran may be the most distinct and well-informed of any administration in decades, an analyst said.

Obama last week delivered a video message to Iran in celebration of the Iranian new year, calling for "engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect."

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This effort is a departure from the "axis of evil" rhetoric of Obama's predecessor, George. W. Bush, and shows the strength of the Washington policy of engagement, wrote Karim Sadjadpour, an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"Obama has been respectful without projecting weakness, which is always a difficult feat to achieve," he said.

Sadjadpour said the engagement strategy may force some of the hard-line clerics in Tehran to validate their acrimony with Washington as most Iranians recognize the era of America as the Great Satan is over.

Washington, in that light, should look to Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds considerable influence in Iran, as the source of rapprochement.

"Obama made it clear to Tehran's leadership that his administration is committed to diplomacy and is genuinely interested in overcoming the tremendous mistrust that has developed over the last three decades," Sadjadpour said.

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