[lbo-talk] Rouhani's overtures to the US

[Marv Gandall]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's efforts to secure a rapprochement with the US date back to his secret meetings in 1986 with Oliver North and Reagan's national security advisor Robert McFarlane. Here's a fascinating account of those earlier meetings which formed part of what later became known as the Iran-Contra Scandal. Rouhani's caution about provoking a backlash from Iranian conservatives was also evident then.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/09/26/when_rouhani_met_ollie_north_iran