Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, endorses diplomacy over militarism
By Jason Rezaian, Washington Post, September 17, 2013

TEHRAN — Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tuesday that his country should embrace diplomacy over militarism, saying it was time for “heroic leniency,” and signaled his embrace of international outreach efforts by new president Hassan Rouhani.

Although Khamenei said the Islamic republic must never abandon its revolutionary ideals and objectives, he said it was time to address Iran’s diplomatic disputes with major world powers.In an interview aired Tuesday evening by the Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo, President Obama said that an opportunity for diplomacy has arisen.

“I hope the Iranians take advantage of it,” he said. “There are indications that Rouhani, the new president, is somebody who is looking to open dialogue with the West and with the United States in a way that we haven’t seen in the past. And so we should test it.”

For talks to succeed, Obama said [....]

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today reiterated his opposition to nuclear weapons.

By Nader Uskowi, Uskowi on Iran, Sept. 17, 2013

 

“We are against nuclear weapons not because of the US or other countries, but because of our beliefs,” Khamenei said. “And when we say no one should have nuclear weapons, we definitely do not pursue it ourselves either.” (IRIB/Press TV, 17 September)

Khamenei made the comments during a Tuesday meeting with the commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Iran sanctions: now is the time to negotiate
New president Rouhani deserves to be taken seriously and to be engaged with constructively by west - analysis
By M Hashem Pesaran for the Tehran Bureau @ theguardian.com, 17 September 2013

Recent Iran TV news interviews of IRI President Rouhani

(TWO  VIDEO CLIPS WITH THIS TEXT)
By Mark Pyruz, Uskowi on Iran, Sept. 16, 2013

 

English translations on his views of the nuclear issue and Syria conflict, by Monitor Middle East

 

Monitor Mideast translation of Iran TV news segment where IRI President Rouhani is seen questioning an IRIB reporter on long-held myths regarding his past track record as Iran's nuclear negotiator.

 

Monitor Mideast translation of Iran TV mews segment where IRI President Rouhani discusses the situation in Syria, chemical weapons and a potential U.S.-led strike. 

 

It's this writer's opinion that these YouTube translations are unfortunately titled. Still, being translated into English they are particularly useful in dispelling a notion among certain quarters that Rouhani is some kind of Gorbachev character in Iranian politics, with the potential of rendering a political  implosion of the IRI. Continuity of core interests can be readily discerned in these short clips, as is also evident in a recent interview of IRI Foreign Minister Zarif.

Rouhani Willing to Decommission Fordo if West Lifts Sanctions – Der Spiegel

By Nader Uskowi, Uskowi on Iran, Sept. 16, 2013

Der Spiegel, the German weekly news magazine renowned for its investigative journalism, reported today in its online edition that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would be willing to decommission the country’s Fordo uranium enrichment facility if the West lifts its sanctions against Iran.

Saying that the international sanctions are taking their toll on Iran’s economy, Spiegel said intelligence sources now expect Rouhani administration to make major concessions during the upcoming nuclear talks with the six major powers on the long-running standoff over the country’s nuclear program.

The report reiterated previous concerns in the West that Fordo uranium enrichment unit, not far from the holy city of Qom, is viewed as a particularly grave threat [....]