D iplomacy and H ypocrisy : T he C ase of I ran

Anumber of international conferences concerned with Iraqi security have been held across the Middle East over the past year. In mid-January, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced that representatives of his government will participate in one to be held in Kuwait in April. The United States and other Western powers will have representatives in attendance.2 Issues on the agenda will surely include Tehran's regional interests and its uranium-enrichment program. It is commonly accepted and openly admitted by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sometimes to the point of overstatement, that the Iranian government funds uranium enrichment. Nor is there any question that the Islamic Republic of Iran has a rigid political system. It is also significant that there have been important developments in the U.S.-Iranian dispute over the past year and a half, a trend away from preparing for war in favor of the pursuit of diplomatic engagement predicated on various forms of pressure. What is in question is whether this policy is in keeping with professed democratic ideals or if it is even practical. DIPLOMACY AND HYPOCRISY: THE CASE OF IRAN