But hey, if it didn’t work the first hundred times, there’s always hope for the 101st.
“Obama calls for new relationship with Iran on anniversay [sic] of embassy takeover,” by Michael Muskal for the Los Angeles Times, November 4:
President Obama today called for a new relationship with Iran in a statement that marked the 30th anniversary of the takeover by Iranian militants of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
The seizure of the embassy by radical students marked the beginning of Iran’s turn to hard-line policies. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days.
“This event helped set the United States and Iran on a path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation,” Obama said in his statement. “I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect.”…
And the response:
“Iran’s Khamenei rejects U.S. outreach,” by Thomas Erdbrink and William Branigin for the Washington Post, November 4:
TEHRAN — Iran’s supreme leader, spurning what he described as several personal overtures from President Obama, warned Tuesday that negotiating with the United States would be “naive and perverted” and that Iranian politicians should not be “deceived” into starting such talks.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 70, said Obama has approached him several times through oral and written messages. It was the second time that Khamenei, who wields ultimate political and religious authority in Iran, has referred to the president’s outreach.
The White House has not confirmed sending letters to the Iranian supreme leader but has acknowledged a willingness to talk to Tehran and said it has sought to communicate with Iranian leaders in a variety of ways.
In his harshest comments yet on the Obama administration, Khamenei said in a speech Tuesday that the United States has ill intentions toward Iran and is not to be trusted.
“The new U.S. president has said nice things,” he said. “He has given us many spoken and written messages and said: ‘Let’s turn the page and create a new situation. Let’s cooperate with each other in resolving world problems.’ ”
Khamenei said he had responded in March to Obama’s overtures, referring to a speech in which he said he would wait for changes in U.S. policy toward Iran before reassessing ties.
Since then, Khamenei said, “what we have witnessed is completely the opposite of what they have been saying and claiming. On the face of things, they say, ‘Let’s negotiate.’ But alongside this, they threaten us and say that if these negotiations do not achieve a desirable result, they will do this and that.”
Khamenei urged Iranian representatives to be extremely careful when dealing with the United States.
“Whenever they smile at the officials of the Islamic revolution, when we carefully look at the situation, we notice that they are hiding a dagger behind their back,” he said. “They have not changed their intentions.”…
Iranian authorities, meanwhile, warned the opposition against using Wednesday’s commemorative events to stage protests against the government. Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have urged supporters to demonstrate during the anniversary rallies, news agencies reported.
“Only anti-American rallies in front of the former American Embassy in Tehran are legal,” the head of Tehran’s security forces said in a statement. “Other gatherings or rallies on Wednesday are illegal and will be strongly confronted by the police.”
Only anti-American rallies.