(AP) Iran Ex-Leader: Tehran Seeks 'Good Will'

[Eugene]

Iran Ex-Leader: Tehran Seeks 'Good Will'
Iran's ex-president: Tehran will 'remove obstacles' to talks with U.S.
if it shows good will

TEHRAN, Iran, Feb. 14, 2007
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer

(AP) Iran will "remove obstacles" blocking negotiations with the United States if
Washington shows good will, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani said Wednesday.

"Any time the United States sends a signal showing good will in its dealings with
Iran, we will in return remove obstacles in the way of negotiations," the official
Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Rafsanjani as saying.

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Rafsanjani is widely seen as a power broker in Iran seeking to reach out to the
West and help reduce mounting tensions between Tehran and the United States.

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The former Iranian president in recent weeks has said differences between Iran and
the West need to be resolved through "dialogue and wisdom" _ clear signals that
Tehran would consider a face-saving solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear
program.

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Full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/14/ap/world/mainD8N9L3P87.shtml

Related: Once US shows its good will, obstacles will be removed: EC chief - IRNA

(Reuters)

Iran official hints at halting atomic work: paper

By Parisa Hafezi

2 hours, 44 minutes ago

TEHRAN (Reuters) - An adviser to Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, suggested in remarks published on Wednesday that Tehran might
consider suspending sensitive atomic work.

The comments are the latest in a series of conflicting signals from Iranian
officials on whether Iran would halt uranium enrichment, which the West fears
Tehran is using to build nuclear bombs. Iran insists its plans are peaceful.

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Ali Akbar Velayati, quoted by French daily Liberation, said Iran had accepted
suspension in the past but the move had not helped to end the dispute.

"But if we continue to be in favor of a peaceful resolution of this problem, no
idea should be unacceptable, not for us or for anyone else," he said. "We have
only got one red line: respecting our right to nuclear energy, which is
guaranteed in the (nuclear) Non-Proliferation Treaty."

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070214/wl_nm/iran_nuclear_dc