Rouhani and the 1914 remix

[unhappycamper]

http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-240114.html



Rouhani and the 1914 remix
By Pepe Escobar
Jan 24, '14

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is at the moment the hardest-working man in (geopolitical) show business. He has just stepped into the lion's den - or goldfish bowl; the World Economic Forum at Davos. And he charmed them all just with his "prudent moderation" strategy, which broadcasts what every Master of The Universe, real or fake, really wants to hear; Iran is open for business.

Rouhani stressed what even BRIC-inventor Jim O'Neill has acknowledged; Iran has the potential to become one of the world's Top Ten economies before 2040. His strategy to achieve it is extremely sound; a very balanced foreign policy subordinated to boosting economic development. It starts with a definitive deal with the P5+1 - the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany - until the end of 2014; the lifting of all sanctions; and then a steady flow of investment by the West.

Rouhani does not see any "insurmountable hurdles" towards a permanent, comprehensive nuclear deal - "unless other parties don't show enough serious will". Sanctions, he said, "merely exacerbate" instability, rather than create peace.

Rouhani could not be more measured in his push to "engage with the world community in a fair basis". He re-stressed that Iran's nuclear program is for civilian use only: "We have no ambition to create a nuclear weapon ... I strongly declare that nuclear weapons have no place in our security strategy. But Iranian people are not prepared to give up their peaceful technology. We will continue to develop peaceful nuclear use."