KHATAMI’S VISIT TO THE USA
The former
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is currently in the
United States of America for “a private visit”. Khatami is
the most important Iranian official who has visited the USA
since this country terminated its diplomatic relations with
Iran. It is highly natural that the public opinions of both
countries have been so much interested in the visit of a
person having such a capacity to the USA that has been
closely related with the final solution of Iran’s nuclear
problem. Initially, it was of interest why the US Leadership
permitted Khatami’s visit. As is known, since the
termination of diplomatic relations between the two
countries, the US Leadership has restricted the visits paid
by Iranian officials to the USA. However, during these days
when relations between Iran and the USA have become tense
regarding the nuclear issue, Khatami’s visit to this country
highly irritated certain American and Iranian politicians.
Certain members of the US House of Representatives called
attention to the fact that during his Presidency, Khatami
included the USA within “the countries of the axis of evil”.
These members indicated that the permission given by the US
Leadership to the visit of this former Iranian leader is
against the policy pursued by the country. However, the US
Leadership turned the green light on for Khatami’s visit,
disregarding all these contradictory voices. At the same
time, the radical Islamist circles of Iran are also
questioning the capacity of Khatami during his visit to the
USA. Journalist-writer Fatemeh Rajebi, the wife of
Government Spokesman Gholamhoseyn Elham, initiated the
argument on this visit that created a significant chaotic
atmosphere in Iranian politics. Highly irritated with
Khatami’s visit to the USA, Iranian Member of Parliament
Fatemeh Rajebi harshly criticized Khatami, demanded
competent authorities that the religious outfit of this
person should be taken away and that he should be punished.
Describing the visit as “the payback by the USA to a former
Iranian President”, Rajebi indirectly criticized Rafsanjani,
the Chairman of the Council for the Discernment of the
Expediency of the Regime (CDE), and stated the following:
“The CDE is needed to make a statement on Khatami’s visit to
the USA, against the national interests of the country, and
the fact that he was officially accepted at the highest
level.” Accusing Khatami of acting in line with Akbar Ganji,
Shirin Abadi and similar circles, Rajebi stated that the
former President does not consider the good for the Islamic
order.
In its
editorial, the conservative Kayhan Newspaper criticized
Khatami’s visit, stated that in an environment when the visa
application of Iranian Minister of Health to participate in
an international conference was rejected by the USA,
granting a US visa to Khatami and his acceptance at the
highest level should be questioned. Actually, who wanted
Khatami to visit the USA? Which persons or circles in Iran
planned Khatami’s visit to the USA in such a tense
atmosphere? Think for a while… You should know the answer,
too…
Invited by
the Harvard University to the US to make a speech on the eve
of September 11 and received several other invitations here,
former President Mohammad Khatami gave interesting messages
in his tour in America. Being the first high ranking Iranian
to set foot in America since the revolution in 1979, former
President Khatami is of note regarding his statements
contrary to the discourse of his successor Ahmadinejad.
Keeping his
distance with his successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who
described the Holocaust as a “myth”, in his interview with
the Time Magazine the former President stated that “the
Jewish Holocaust is a historical fact”, and that “The
Holocaust should not be, in any way, an excuse for the
suppression of Palestinian rights”. He also added that he
personally believed that Ahmadinejad really didn't deny the
existence of the Holocaust. “I believe that the Holocaust,
which is an absolute and historical fact, is the crime of
Nazism,” stated Khatami, indicating the potential misuse of
this fact, expressed the following: “The Holocaust should
not be, in any way, an excuse for the suppression of
Palestinian rights.” Another remarkable statement of Khatami
was about the fact that his country is favoring a
Palestinian State existing side by side Israel. In his
interview with the British Financial Times Newspaper during
his visit, Khatami stated that “Iran would accept a two-state
solution if the ruling Hamas adopt such a solution”. "I
think Hamas itself, which has come to power today in a
democratic process, is ready to live alongside Israel if its
rights are met and it is dealt with like a democratic state
and as the Palestinian government, and pressures are removed
from Hamas," expressed Khatami.
Known as
“the Reformist President”, Khatami, in his initial
statements, described the USA as “a great country with a
great people, capacity and potential”, disregarding the
“Great Evil” discourse of the Iranian Leadership. Khatami’s
these words, contradicting with the harsh discourse of the
present President Ahmadinejad against the USA, created vast
repercussions.
Served as
the President between 1997 and 2005, Khatami stated in the
USA Today Newspaper that his country is not USA’s enemy; and
that they have common interests in Iraq and Afghanistan. To
the contrary of the Iranian Leadership that considers the
foreign powers in Iraq as the source of instability in the
region and demands an end to the occupation, Khatami stated
that the US forces should not withdraw from Iraq until the
situation is fully under control, and that the newly
established government should not be left to the mercy of
terrorists and insurgents. Describing the 9/11 attacks as “brutality”,
Khatami advocated that the suicide bombers were unfair to
Islam and that these people could not enter Paradise. “A
miscalculation about Iraq creates problems for the US, the
Iraqi people and the region; and in case the same
miscalculation has been repeated for Iran, the damage would
be much more than the one in Iraq for everybody, underlined
Khatami, warning against any potential war in the Middle
East.
Political
observers stress that the US Leadership that initially
stated that it would “not meet with Khatami” so as to
relieve the tension in the American public opinion, indeed
invited the former Iranian President, considering its own
interests. Known as a moderate reformist leader, 62 years
old Khatami favored during his term the provision of a more
comfortable environment to the press and the reinforcement
of the dialogue with the international community by pursuing
a more open policy to the outside world. Although he
supported the nuclear development plan of Iran, Khatami
advocated dialogue with the Western countries instead of
confrontation. Moreover, Khatami called for dialogue with
the US during his term. In the present time when both
countries undergo tensions in their relations, the
permission given by the Bush Administration to the visit of
Khatami, considered to be “the most agreeable figure in
Iran”, means that the US has not closed the door of dialogue
with the reformists in Iran.
Observers
indicate several other points as well. The US called the UN
Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran when Iran
rejected the resolution of the UN Security Council to
suspend its uranium enrichment activities at the last day of
the deadline enforced on it. Under these circumstances, the
provision of Khatami’s visit to the US by the Iranian
Leadership is most probably a tactic of buying time to
maintain its nuclear program by conveying both soft and
strong messages to the USA.
As a matter
of fact, Khatami almost never mentions the nuclear issue of
Iran in his conferences in the USA. Instead, he largely
deals with civilizations, dialogue and conflict issues.
Through this method, the Iranian Leadership is hoping to
distract the attention paid by the US to the nuclear problem
and is not involved in an opposition with the US nor gives
any concessions. When carefully examined, the current
process reveals several clues indicating that Khatami has
personally been sent by the Iranian Leadership to the USA.
The fact that the first reaction to the Iranian Member of
Parliament Fatemeh Rajebi, who harshly criticized Khatami,
came from First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament Mohammed
Reza Bahoner, one of the prominent figures of the
conservative camp, reveals the view of the Leadership in
regard with the visit. Somehow protecting the former
President against the rising reactions within the country,
Bahoner stated that “Khatami is a prominent individual
representing the Iranian culture”. “The realization of ‘The
Inter-Civilizations Dialogue’ project is a great honor for
Iranian people and through such visits, the contacts between
the intellectuals will yield positive results,” also
mentioned Bahoner. “Rajebi’s criticisms reflect her personal
ideas and have nothing to do with the Government,” said Ali
Akbar Javan-Fekr, Ahmadinejad’s Adviser.
Shortly,
neither the Bush Administration nor the Iranian Leadership
obstructed Khatami’s visit to the USA. Thus, both countries
are trying to find out the limits of each other through this
visit that takes place in a period when the conflict in
between has constantly been escalated.
