Disgraceful

The Obama administration is open to discussions with Iran over its nuclear ambitions despite protests questioning the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, U.S. officials said Sunday. Ahmadinejad has accused the West of stoking unrest, singling out Britain and the United States for allegations of meddling. Last week, Iran expelled two British diplomats, and Britain responded in kind. Iran, which detained nine British Embassy employees Saturday before releasing four, has said it's considering downgrading diplomatic ties with Britain...

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday that Ahmadinejad is falling back on his government's usual strategy of blaming the West and the United States in particular for its internal problems. "This is a profound moment of change. And what Ahmadinejad says to try to change the subject is, frankly, not going to work in the current context, because the people understand that the United States has not been meddling in their internal affairs," she said.

Actually they don't understand anything of the sort, given the country's state-controlled media has gone into full 1984 mode and the country is awash with and vulnerable to the most insane conspiracy theories. But wouldn't it be nice if that wasn't true?

References:
* Obama officials say talks with Iran still possible [AP]
* BreakingNews [Twitter]
* Conspiracy Theories in Iran's Unrest [Daniel Pipes]
* Don't Call What Happened in Iran Last Week an Election [Hitchens / Slate]

Previously:
* Watchers Council Results - Watching Obama Watching Iran
* Obama Now Just Making Up Previous Statements About Iran
* More Reports Of Hezbollah Thugs Beating Iranian Protesters