TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Just as the Obama administration was reaching out to Iran, the Islamic Republic sentenced an American journalist to eight years in prison and leveled a heated new attack on Israel as racist.
Yet Iran also said it was ready for better relations with the United States after three decades of diplomatic stalemate — another in the mixed messages from Tehran that reflect the tug-of-war within Iran's ruling class over the idea of moving closer to Washington.
Iranian officials flip-flop on an almost daily basis, with the tone toward the United States running hot and cold.
The complex Iranian political landscape is a challenge for President Barack Obama as his administration decides how to approach Iran.
High on the list is hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a deeply polarizing figure who has called repeatedly for Israel's destruction, denied the Holocaust and insisted Iran won't give up uranium enrichment despite U.N. Security Council demands to stop.
A day after the Iranian leader attacked Israel during a speech at a U.N. racism conference, Obama on Tuesday called it "the kind of rhetoric that we've come to expect from President Ahmadinejad" but said he was serious about engaging with Iran.
During his campaign, Obama added, "I was very clear that I found many of the statements that President Ahmadinejad made, particularly those directed — directed at Israel to be appalling and o... >>>
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