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Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-diplomat9-2009feb09,0,93328.story
Washington's Man in Iran
[Los Angeles Times] Borzou Daragahi - Philippe Welti served as both Switzerland's envoy to Iran and as Washington's representative to the Islamic Republic for the past four years. During a series of interviews last year, Welti, now about to serve as Switzerland's envoy to India, described his experiences. He saw mendacious officials manipulate public opinion and was disappointed by some top officials who rationalized away concerns about human rights and freedom of expression by labeling them "Western" concepts. He found himself frustrated with both the stubbornness of Iran's conservative camp and the weakness of its reformists. After watching the transition from Khatami to Ahmadinejad, he concluded that it would be tough to change Iran's foreign policies. "As long as there is a gap between fundamentalist positions and international standards of intergovernmental exchange and relations, it will be difficult for Iran to engage fully with the world," he said. Welti anticipates little progress in unraveling the disagreement between Iran and the West on Tehran's nuclear ambitions.