How do you see the prospects of ties with the U.S. in President Khatamis second term?
Hashemi: The key to solving the problem is in the hands of the U.S. The U.S. talks about all these foreign policy conditions, but Iran has done more than enough, while the U.S. really hasn’t taken a single step forward. If one day Secretary of State Albright made a positive remark, the day after Vice President Al Gore would ruin it would a negative one. The U.S. needs this relationship more than Iran does, and needs to take fundamental steps to build trust. TIME: What could the U.S. specifically do to build Iran’s trust? Hashemi: Well, our assets that have been frozen since the revolution could be freed. The ban on oil companies investing in Iran could be lifted, along with the ban on the transfer of technology. See, the U.S. can’t make a pretense of wanting to improve ties, when at the same time Congress is busy resisting.
