[Ha'aretz] Barak Ravid - U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns told a group of Israeli diplomats in Washington last week of concerns that opening a U.S. interests section in Tehran could strengthen President Ahmadinejad and help him win the presidential elections next June. Senior Washington officials believe the move would signal American weakness and enable Ahmadinejad to claim that despite the sanctions he has not given in, while the U.S. "folded." "The Americans have been told by too many officials the world over that opening an interests section in Tehran, as the last move of an outgoing administration, is not a good idea," a senior Jerusalem source said.
2008-11-18 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive