The latest US overture to Iran comes on a bun, with a slice of cheese, lettuce, pickles and a daub of ketchup.
The Obama administration has instructed US ambassadors and consular officials across the world that they may invite Iranian diplomats to American Independence Day celebrations on 4 July, for hot dogs, hamburgers and speeches about American history and values.
The cable to US diplomats opening the new cookout diplomacy, first reported by the New York Times, is Obama's latest effort to reach out to the Islamic republic. It came two weeks before Iranians are to vote on whether to give its hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term or to elect a reformer who favours thawing relations with America.
The US and Iran have had no diplomatic relations since 1979, when a group of student protesters seized the US embassy in Tehran and took US officials hostage. Relations between the two nations suffered when President George Bush was in the White House and lumped Iran in an "axis of evil" with Iraq – its historic adversary – and North Korea.
Obama, an avowed cheeseburger lover, has dramatically shifted course since taking office. He has explicitly recognised the regime's legitimacy and the nation's Islamic character and sent a conciliatory video message on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian new year, in March.
Last week, the White House strongly condemned a series of terrorist attacks in Iran and sent condolences.
In addition, the US has pledged to join multilateral talks with Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China over Tehran's nuclear programme and Afghanistan and has left the door open for eventual bilateral talks. Obama has said, most recently to the BBC today, that he hopes to be able to assess by December whether nuclear negotiations with Iran have borne fruit. The Iranian response to the US overtures has been mixed, likely the result of internal debate within the regime.
Americans typically celebrate Independence Day with parades, flying flags, and cookouts of hamburgers, hot dogs and other grilled foods.
The cable to US diplomats went out on Friday, according to the New York Times, but it was unclear whether any invitations had been extended.
Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said social contacts between low-level officials of the two nations could prove an effective way to reintroduce the two governments after 30 years of frosty relations.
He doubted Iranian officials would be eager to attend American Independence Day celebrations, but said the US move could eventually see Iranians and Americans mingling at third-party events like Brazilian and Japanese national celebrations.
"I doubt you will find Iranian diplomats attending forth of July celebrations and munching on halal hot dogs," he said.
* Obama administration
* Iran
* United States
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/02/obama-iran-independence-day
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