Adam noted the happy news that American journalist Roxane Saberi will be freed. What does it mean for the U.S. relationship with Iran? It's obviously good political news for an Obama administration that has placed serious emphasis on diplomacy.
More important, it's good news for anyone who worried that Iran's government is structured such that it will be very difficult to put effective incentives or sanctions to work. Iran isn't a monolith, but in this case it's clear that Iranian officials are willing to make good faith gestures toward the West -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad intervened to ensure that Saberi's appeal went forward, and the verdict came ahead of schedule. With the country headed for new elections this summer, recent reports have suggested there is a constituency among Iranians that supports stronger relations with the West. Ahmadinejad certainly could have used this trial as an election-year saber-rattling opportunity; that he chose not to suggests he sees it in his political interest to make nice with the West, not something that can usually be said about Iranian leaders. Recall the usual caveats about one situation not making a trend, and the various conflicting interests that make our relations with the aspiring regional hegemon so fraught, but this is a step in the right direction.
Update: A friend flags this AFP story on the topic [emphasis mine]:
Saberi, who worked for a number of foreign media outlets, had beenaccused of "cooperating with a hostile state," a charge which carries aprison term of one to 10 years. Washington dismissed the allegations asbaseless.
But Nikbakht said the appeal courthad quashed the initial April 13 verdict on the grounds that the UnitedStates and Iran could not be defined as hostile towards each other.
-- Tim Fernholz
