Seals, hiIf I contact Dr. Badawi and get a reply, I'll let you...

Seals, hi

If I contact Dr. Badawi and get a reply, I'll let you know. If the bid for MAK is going to fail I probably won't contact him. Am just against exchanging a huge bit of Mehdiabad for Wonarah and cash.

It appears Ahmadinejad laughed when Rafsanjani asked, while Jalili was reporting "progress", if any was really made in the Baghdad talks. I think the Iranians are just playing for time, and they know Obama won't want to start a war before the US elections. So I predict there won't be any progress at Moscow, and then the Israelis will probably take action dragging everybody in. I don't think the Israelis are afraid of being attacked pre-emptively by an Iranian nuclear weapon: it is just that Iran having nuclear capability will put off the diaspora emigrating to Israel, and that perhaps is an unacceptable threat to Israel's economic viability, particularly if some Israelis start leaving Israel.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9303267/Iran-ex-presidents-whispered-comment-on-nuclear-talks.html

I remain optimistic Iran is in for big change soon, and hopefully value will "out" at Mehdiabad as a result.

Below are some comments from Alireza Nader's article in Foreign policy magazine, which may be of interest:

Iran's economy is battered and its population restive.
Khamenei faces a critical choice in the months ahead: make a compromise to lessen tensions with the United States and the international community, or maintain a status quo that may set in motion the demise of his regime.
the Iranian regime's miscalculation in pursuing a nuclear weapons capability may prove to be its undoing.
Sanctions are helping prevent Iran from weaponizing its nuclear program while weakening Khamenei's regime at home and abroad. The Islamic Republic will not be able to escape the uprisings that have enveloped the Middle East indefinitely. [And Mr Alireza Nader should have added, IMO, “Before Wonarah adds value to our share price”]

http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/05/22/irans_buying_time_and_thats_fine

[ I also think the way to reduce tension with the USA is to stop all the regime’s anti American propaganda, but of course if they do that Iranians will start to compare their leadership with more liberal minded politicians in the West and wonder why they put up with such a leadership – and that too will lead to the end of the regime]

Below is a better link to the Conference at Burkle on May 13th 2011 titled "the prospects for regime change in Iran"

The first two speaker (Abbas Milani and Karim Sadjadpour are really very good).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4sfBF42Od8