Did Iran Really Reject Obama's Overture?

This piece was originally posted by the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality.

Iran's response to a supposedly conciliatory address March 20 by U.S. President Barack Obama was met with a torrent of "we-told-you-sos" by the U.S. media.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had simply "dismissed President Obama's extraordinary Persian New Year greeting …"

The Christian Science Monitor said the president's gesture had been "greeted coolly" by Khamenei.

And an Associated Press report carried by, among others, The New York Times, called Khamenei's response a "rebuff" that "was swift and sweeping."

Was it?

President Obama used the occasion of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, to issue a message to both the Iranian people and its government that was noteworthy both for its tone and much of its substance. Implicitly rejecting the arrogant bellicosity of the Cheney-Bush years, the president stressed that his administration "is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community."

Specifically, Obama reiterated his already stated preference for diplomacy over the threat of military force. "This process [pursuing constructive ties] will not be advanced by threats," he said. "We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect."

President Obama's remarks were considered highly unusual for several reasons. First, instead of attempting, like President George W. Bush before him, to go over the heads of Iran's government and talk "directly" to the Iranian people, Obama pointedly directed his remarks to both the Iranian people and their government. And he referred to the country by its official name, the Islamic Republic of Iran, implicitly recognizing the legitimacy of that government. And he stated that the U.S. wants Iran "to take its rightful place in the community of nations," acknowledging that "You have that right …"

So why was Iran's response so negative?

Well, first of all, it wasn't.

The office of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was among the first to respond to Obama's "overture."

In a statement to Press TV, Iran's English-language television channel, presidential aide Ali-Akbar Javanfekr said, "If Mr. Obama takes concrete action and makes fundamental changes in U.S. foreign policy towards other nations, including Iran, the Iranian government and people won't turn their back on him."

As reported by the Iranian Fars News Agency, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki commented on Obama's address, saying that "We are glad that Nowruz has been a source for friendship and we are pleased that Nowruz message is a message for coexistence, peace and friendship for the whole world."

Press TV itself reported on President Obama's address in a March 20 online article titled "Obama scores points with Iran message," noting that "his remarks, a significant departure from the tone of the previous administration, were well-received around the globe." The news channel also carried a link to Obama's address.

The U.S. media generally focused on the response by Iran's Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is not only the country's top religious leader but also its military commander-in-chief.

Addressing a large crowd on March 22 in his home town of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, the ayatollah touched on Obama's remarks, noting that "Of course, we have no prior experience of the new president of the American republic and of the government, and therefore we shall make our judgment based on his actions."