"Meeting" may lead to further hostility

By Jaya Spier

At the Afghan Donor’s Conference on Tuesday there was a reported meeting between Richard Holbrooke, an American envoy and the Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhundzadeh from Iran. This interaction was a step forward after American President Obama stated he would like to start fresh with Iran and improve relations between the two countries.

In a speech made on March 21^st President Obama stated, “The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right, but it comes with real responsibilities. And that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization” (CNN.com).

Additionally, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did reveal that the issue of the release of three Americans who are currently being held in Iran was touched upon through a letter. “Levinson is a former FBI agent who went missing two years ago while on a business trip to Iran. Saberi is an Iranian American freelance journalist who has been detained since January, and Momeni is an Iranian American student who was detained last year” (washingtonpost.com).

The conversation between Holbrooke and Akhundzadeh was kept to the sidelines and the American government claimed that it was not planned but that it could lead to future meetings. During the conference Clinton did ask that Afghanistan’s neighbors help provide aid in any way possible. While Iran was not referenced directly, Akhundzadeh did say that Iran would be willing to assist. However he also stated that the Iranian government was in direct opposition of Obama’s plan to boost American troops in Afghanistan and that “the presence of foreign forces has not improved things in the country and it seems that an increase in the number of foreign forces will prove ineffective, too” (news.xinhuanet.com).

As reports of the meeting between the United States and Iran spread, the Iranian foreign ministry decided on Wednesday to deny that any such interaction had occurred. The spokesperson, “Hassan Ghashghavi also denied that the Iranian delegation had received any letter from the US officials asking about the whereabouts of three American nationals reportedly jailed or gone missing in the Islamic republic” (AFP).

It looks like the Iranian government is unhappy with what occurred at the donor conference and rather than resolving any issues, this interaction between the United States and Iran may lead to further confusion and conflict.