I disagree that there is a consensus among Iranian expatriates about Obama’s remarks. While not Persian myself, I have talked politics with more than a few Iranian expatriates. I have never heard any of these people speak positively about Ahmadinejad or the Islamic regime. However, many I have spoken to find the prospect of a US invasion worse than the continuation of the current government. I have also heard the viewpoint that it is unfair for foreign powers to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, or to pressure the government to modernize. “Who gave the US the right to decide who gets what weapons?”
Some (most?) Iranian Expatriates I have spoken to were relieved by Obama’s remarks because their chief concern in US-Iranian relations is that there not be a war. It is understandable, since a war would endanger their family members. For these people, confrontation with the Iranian regime is scary, while diplomacy, no matter how ineffectual, is relieving.
In a letter purporting to speak for the Iranian people, I was also surprised to see positive references to the US’s moral authority, agreement with a quote from John Bolton, and a reference to the Iran-Iraq war that seemed to hold the US blameless. From my experience, these statements do not represent mainstream Iranian views. I love John Bolton, but I’ve never met a non-Jewish Persian who felt the same way.
