To date, most of President Obama’s cabinet members have been appointed and the key positions have been filled. Of those that still unfilled, one was the subject of much discussion and debate. The announcement of who is in charge of Iran affairs in the State Department emerged in form of rumors immediately following election night. Dennis Ross was the name dropped everywhere in Washington as a fit candidate for the job. His perceptive expertise as a diplomat and a Middle East negotiator under two former presidents made him the obvious front-runner. However, one side of the equation was not happy about Mr. Ross’s name appearing in the media as such.

Tehran’s regime, and its friends in Washington, began screaming hard as soon as they found out about President Obama’s possible appointment of Mr. Ross and the fighting amongst lobby groups started behind the scenes immediately. The pro-engagement circles fear that Ross’s nomination would disappoint Tehran and block the much desired overture toward the Mullahs.

Some advisors recommend that the U.S. should halt any serious move until Iran’s presidential election is over in June 2009. They feel that this gives more of a chance for the moderates in Iran to surface in the ongoing power struggle among the various factions. For others, this “Iranian moderate mirage” would only buy the Iranian regime more time to approach a nuclear capability.

Once again, the U.S. policy’s toward Iran has become the subject of tensions among various power circles in Washington. Only one thing could serve as a true compass and guide us to the save shores; that the Iranian regime is more fragile than ever and the pressure should continue. A nuclear Iran is neither the United State’s interest, nor anyone else on our planet earth.

This is the first test for Obama’s Iran policy. It is not about Ross. It is about looking back through thirty years of failed policy toward Tehran and attempt to understand the reasons behind Secretary Robert Gate’s regrets. He recently told an audience in Washington that:

“I have been involved in the search for the elusive Iranian moderate for 30 years. (Laughter.) I was in the first meeting that took place between a senior U.S. government official and the leadership of the Iranian government in Algiers at the end of October, 1979.

Every administration since then has reached out to the Iranians in one way or another and all have failed. Some have gotten into deep trouble associated with their failures, but the reality is the Iranian leadership has been consistently unyielding over a very long period of time in response to repeated overtures from the United States about having a different and better kind of relationship.

PAIC