The Christian Science Monitor’s Scott Peterson has reported, in a just-published article, that “Mr. Khatami – the reformist cleric who was twice elected in landslide victories – has just told him that ” ‘The solution is for both sides to resort to logic, refrain from provocative rhetoric, and put the emphasis on negotiations … We have no choice but to overcome misunderstandings that mostly stem from the meddling of the US [in the Middle East] and its wrong policies in Iran’, said Khatami. ‘We can find common interests in the region and the world. And we can also avoid actions that would be damaging to both sides’. Failure could mean ‘things will get worse, a huge crisis will be created, and then it is not only Iran that would suffer’, warns Khatami. ‘Our crisis-stricken region would also suffer greatly, and the US itself ‘ … US fears of Iran’s nuclear program are a “pretext” that can be resolved through inspections and accepting Iran’s ‘right’ to nuclear technology’, says Khatami. ‘ Iran does not have the bomb and does not want the bomb’.” Scott Peter’s report on Khatami’s remarks is published here.