Iran Tells Obama To Go Pound Sand

Iran sets terms for U.S. ties
Reuters
TEHRAN
Iran has responded to U.S. President Barack Obama’s offer of better relations by demanding policy changes from Washington, but the Islamic state is not closing the door to a possible thaw in ties with its old foe.
Iran wants the United States to show concrete change in its behavior toward it, for example by handing back frozen assets, but Tehran is not pursuing “eternal hostility,” said Professor Mohammad Marandi at Tehran University.

“I think they (the Iranian leadership) are quite willing to have better relations if the Americans are serious,” said Marandi, who heads North American studies at the university.

A day after Obama held out the prospect of a “new beginning” of diplomatic engagement, Iran’s top authority spoke at length on Saturday about its grievances against the United States and said he saw no real policy shift yet by the new administration.

But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state, also added in his speech at Iran’s most prominent religious shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad: “You change, our behavior will change.”

Marandi said Khamenei did not dismiss Obama’s overture but was “effectively saying that this is simply not enough, that the United States must take concrete steps toward decreasing tension with Iran.”

Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic ties for three decades and are now embroiled in a dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at making bombs. Iran denies the charge.

Saeed Laylaz, editor of business daily Sarmayeh and an outspoken political commentator, said Khamenei in his speech had sent a “counter-offer” to the United States following Obama’s video message on Friday to mark the Iranian New Year. “I think he opened the doors to the United States,” Laylaz said.

FROZEN ASSETS
After taking office in January, Obama talked of extending a hand of peace to Tehran if it “unclenches its fist,” in contrast to his predecessor George W. Bush, who branded Iran part of an “axis of evil” and spearheaded a drive to isolate it.

In his warmest offer yet of a fresh start in relations, Obama said in Friday’s video message: “The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations.”

But Khamenei made clear more than a change in U.S. rhetoric was needed, saying the United States was “hated in the world” and should stop interfering in other countries.

He also spoke of “oppressive sanctions” imposed on the Islamic Republic, Iranian assets frozen in the United States and Washington’s backing of Israel, which Tehran does not recognize.

“Khamenei suggested a very clear way for Obama’s administration, how they can start real action about Iran,” Laylaz said.

Iran Dismisses U.S. Outreach as a ‘Slogan’
FOX news
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a sermon during his visit to Mashhad, 741km (463 miles) east of Tehran, March 21, 2009. Iran has responded to U.S. President Barack Obama’s offer of better relations by demanding policy changes from Washington,

President Obama intends to press ahead with efforts to open a dialogue with Iran despite an apparent setback yesterday when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme religious leader, dismissed U.S. overtures as a “slogan” offering no real change.

Obama and his aides had already been considering a direct approach to Khamenei as a possible follow-up to the president’s unprecedented video address to the Iranian people, released on Friday.

Khamenei’s initial response was not encouraging, but U.S. officials and European diplomats noted that the Iranian leader did not rule out a future breakthrough. A familiar chant of “Death to America” echoed around a religious shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad as Khamenei complained that Obama had “insulted the Islamic republic of Iran from the first day.”

In the video — subtitled in Farsi — Obama pledged to pursue “constructive ties.” The president noted that the process would “not be advanced by threats,” and referred to Iran as an “Islamic republic,” signalling his readiness to deal with the current religious leadership.

.

Wild Thing’s comment…….
So even the Iranians know it’s TOTUS!!! What’s next, Obama sending Iran 20 classic American movie DVD’s?
Taliban slapped him down recently as well.

Please see this as well:
Air Cavalry crews see higher-tech attacks, weapons from Iran
Multi-National Force webstie

BAGHDAD — Air cavalry helicopter pilots have had to change their tactics to adapt to newer and higher-tech surface-to-air missile systems that officials believe are coming in from Iran, a senior official in Iraq said Friday.
Crews from 1st Air Cavalry Brigade out of Camp Taji have flown support for operations in and around Baghdad for more than a year. Since their arrival, there has been an increase in the sophistication of attacks and types of weapons, Army Col. Daniel J. Shanahan said in a conference call with military analysts.

“In the last several months, we have had an increased threat from systems that we had not seen in the first part of the year,” Shanahan said. Some of them originated in “places like Iran,” he said, causing considerable change in tactics, techniques and procedures.

“It’s a real concern, and it’s something that we’re dealing with,” he said. “Right now we’ve got the best systems in the world, and we’ve got technology behind us.”

Shanahan said additional sensors and diffusers, which decrease an aircraft’s infrared signature, have been added, and crews’ flying tactics have changed.

Shanahan’s crews have logged 80,000 hours of flight time in the past 13 months, he said. The helicopters spend about 10 hours in the air for every one on the ground, Shanahan estimated. But even though the enemy’s weapons systems are more advanced than before, overall attacks on aircraft are down in the area, he said.

Crews are fired upon about 200 times monthly, he said. Attacks are from weapons types ranging from small arms to rockets known in military parlance as “man-portable air-defense systems,” or MANPADs, which are shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles that typically use infrared guidance.

MANPADs make up only about 5 percent of the attacks, “but if you ask the pilots, they would say that MANPADS is the biggest threat,” Shanahan said.

It takes about 3,000 troops to fly, fuel, arm and maintain the H-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters operating around the clock at the base. The aircraft are used for attack reconnaissance, air assault, air transport and medical evacuation missions.

In addition, crews partner with Iraqi Air Force units for training and some missions. The Iraqi Air Force has progressed sufficiently that it routinely provides reconnaissance missions, patrolling pipelines, power lines and other infrastructure. It also provides in-country transportation for Iraqi government officials.

Iraqi Air Force pilots fly three types of helicopters: Mi-17s and Bell JetRangers in training programs and UH-1 Hueys mounted with defensive systems, which are workhorses for reconnaissance and transport, Shanahan said. This frees his crews from these types of missions and is a critical step toward the Iraqi government assuming its own security mission, he said.