War, surprisingly, opens diplomatic doors

As the United States looks for openings to improve relations with countries in the crucial Middle East region, it might take note of what's going on outside the closed-up US Embassy in Tehran.

Yes, there are still anti-American rallies outside the gates that were stormed in November 1979 by Iranians as part of the country's Islamic revolution. This week, assembled protesters again chanted "Death to America" to mark 22 years of the Embassy's - and a pro-US regime's - fall.

But the crowds aren't what they once were. And as a sign of an attitude blooming among many Iranians, flowers have appeared outside those same embassy gates on many mornings since Sept. 11 - a symbol, though quickly removed by police, of a warming toward America.

Those flowers are just one facet of an emerging picture of opportunity for the US in several corners of the Middle East and Persian Gulf region. While attention is focused on the damage the military campaign in Afghanistan could do to US relations with the Muslim world, examples of another kind suggest important openings to US efforts in the region in the months ahead.

From a recent pro-Western cabinet shuffling in Jordan, to White House meetings this week between President Bush and Algerian and Moroccan leaders, and even secret talks between American and Libyan officials, the US is using the post-Sept. 11 climate to press its interests.

In the case of Libya, the talks may be limited to what information a regime that has used terrorism against American interests can provide on current terrorist threats. Algeria's information may prove useful, too, since the north African country has battled Islamic extremists for a decade in a war that has cost more than 100,000 lives. The US may also see an opportunity to press its interest in Algeria's vast natural-gas reserves.

But signs of a good chance to mend relations with Iran, one of the region's key powers, top the list. "Iran is not one more little country you can sharply improve relations with overnight," says William Quandt, a former National Security Council Middle East specialist under the Carter administration, and now a professor at the University of Virginia. "But improvements are something elements on both sides have sought for a while, and the current climate opens the door to them a little wider."

Indeed, moderate President Mohamad Khatami has made overtures to the West, including the US, since he took office in 1997 in a landslide election. But his efforts have run into stiff resistance from hard-line clerics in the government, who see any opening to the US as a slap at the revolution. Still, in response to Mr. Khatami, the US under President Clinton did relax some economic sanctions against Iran - including easing up on the import of Persian carpets.

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