Iran's Rouhani says U.S.-Iran enmity eased, but distrust will remain

[Little Tich]

Source: Yahoo! News / Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in an interview with a U.S. television network that aired on Sunday that Tehran and Washington "have taken the first steps" toward decreasing their enmity due to a landmark nuclear accord.

But Rouhani told CBS' "60 Minutes" program that despite the nuclear agreement, "the distance, the disagreements, the lack of trust, will not go away soon."

The United States and Iran have been at odds since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Deep differences remain over Middle East conflicts, as well as what Washington sees as Iran's support for terrorism and poor human rights record.

"What’s important is which direction we are heading?" Rouhani added. "Are we heading toward amplifying the enmity or decreasing this enmity? I believe we have taken the first steps toward decreasing this enmity."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/irans-rouhani-says-u-iran-enmity-eased-distrust-230433636.html

[Fred Sanders]

1. I hate chopped up quotes lifted from the middle of sentences....used to be called "bad reporting".

Now every media outlet from the local paper to international news aggregators are doing it, seemingly because putting up the whole sentence with context means you have to report on the truth and then you do not get to do the fun stuff, spinning the story as desired.

Rouhani's interview and message was entirely one of reconciliation and peace, despite the waffle headline....as he has always maintained since his overwhelming electoral victory delivered mainly by young people who want Iran to join the international community and rejected the isolationism and religious rhetoric of the mullahs.