The Guardian published an article by Stephen Kinzer headlined "New President Hassan Rouhani makes the unimaginable imaginable for Iran."
"The election of Hassan Rouhani, who will be inaugurated today as Iran's seventh president, opens intriguing possibilities. Since 2005, the world has known an Iranian president who spoke the language of provocation and seemed to delight in keeping his country isolated. That is about to change," the article begins.
"Finding a way to bring Iran back into the world's mainstream will be Rouhani's principal challenge. His power is limited, though in the fluid world of Iranian politics, he is likely to accumulate more. His adversaries, most notably supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and the United States, ridicule him as a puppet of repressive mullahs," the author writes.
"The emergence of Rouhani, especially at a time when President Obama no longer needs to worry about re-election, makes imaginable what for years has been unimaginable. Reconciliation would allow the world to stop fearing a Persian Gulf conflagration and hope instead for Iran's return to the global economy, a responsible role in the Middle East, and even some form of partnership with the United States. It will only be possible if both sides delicately confront the ghosts of history," the author concludes.
