There can be no doubt that before coming to the US, Iran’s new president studied Obama’s letter to Khamenei, who promised “heroic flexibility” in negotiations. With Khamenei’s support, Rouhani will be able to rein in recalcitrant forces in Iran’s power structure in a way that his pragmatic predecessors, Rafsanjani and Khatami, could not.
毫无疑问，在来到美国之前，伊朗新总统研究过奥巴马致哈梅内伊的信，后者许诺在谈判中可以行使“英勇的灵活性”。有了哈梅内伊的支持，鲁哈尼能够以他的务实派前任拉夫桑贾尼和哈塔米无法做到的方式驾驭伊朗权力格局中的顽固派。自1979年以来，没有哪位伊朗总统能够像鲁哈尼那样提出谈判条件——我的意思是，能够决定是否以及何时提出谈判条件。