File:6291. Satellite Dishes. Karaj Tehran (2176676171).jpg

Mohammad Khatami attracted world attention in his first election to the presidency in 1997 when as "a little known cleric, he captured almost 70% of the vote." The focus of his campaign was on the rule of law, democracy and the inclusion of all Iranians in the political decision-making process. During his two terms as president, Khatami advocated freedom of expression, tolerance and civil society, constructive diplomatic relations with other states including EU and Asian governments, and an economic policy that supported free market and foreign investment.

Khatami supporters have been described as a "coalition of strange bedfellows, including traditional leftists, ... business leaders who wanted the state to open up the economy and allow more foreign investment" and "women and younger voters."

During Khatami's presidency, Iran's foreign policy began a process of moving from confrontation to conciliation. In Khatami's notion of foreign policy, there was no "clash of civilizations", he favoured instead a "dialogue among civilizations". If ever there was a time for carrot in the "carrot and stick" diplomacy with Iran, this was it. In March 2000, <a href="http://www.parstimes.com/history/albright_speech.html">Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sort of apologized</a> for the <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0004/19/i_ins.00.html">US involvement in overthrowing Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Massadegh</a> and for supporting Saddam Hussein's war against Iran. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/17/AR2006061700727_pf.html">In 2003, Iran approached the United States</a> with <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/documents/us_iran_1roadmap.pdf">proposals to negotiate all outstanding issues</a> including the nuclear issue and a two-state settlement for Israel-Palestine. However, the US maintained most of its unilateral sanctions which prevented development of an Iranian export economy (other than oil), which would have bolstered business support for reform.

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Khatami">Khatami also acted as Iran's Minister of Culture in 1980s and 1990s</a>. In that position and as President, he encouraged the transformation of Iran's state-run media, changing television programming from traditional boring state-run fare to much more professional, entertaining, and informative. During his tenure, the government also generally overlooked the prohibition of satellite television receivers. Satellite antennas went from rare and disguised to ubiquitous, visible on the roof of nearly every apartment building. Some of this openness survives Khatami, but it seems that the police are once again <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/30/AR2008053002567_pf.html">confiscating satellite dishes</a>. Mohammad Khatami attracted world attention in his first election to the presidency in 1997 when as "a little known cleric, he captured almost 70% of the vote." The focus of his campaign was on the rule of law, democracy and the inclusion of all Iranians in the political decision-making process. During his two terms as president, Khatami advocated freedom of expression, tolerance and civil society, constructive diplomatic relations with other states including EU and Asian governments, and an economic policy that supported free market and foreign investment.

Khatami supporters have been described as a "coalition of strange bedfellows, including traditional leftists, ... business leaders who wanted the state to open up the economy and allow more foreign investment" and "women and younger voters."

During Khatami's presidency, Iran's foreign policy began a process of moving from confrontation to conciliation. In Khatami's notion of foreign policy, there was no "clash of civilizations", he favoured instead a "dialogue among civilizations". If ever there was a time for carrot in the "carrot and stick" diplomacy with Iran, this was it. In March 2000, <a href="http://www.parstimes.com/history/albright_speech.html">Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sort of apologized</a> for the <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0004/19/i_ins.00.html">US involvement in overthrowing Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Massadegh</a> and for supporting Saddam Hussein's war against Iran. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/17/AR2006061700727_pf.html">In 2003, Iran approached the United States</a> with <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/documents/us_iran_1roadmap.pdf">proposals to negotiate all outstanding issues</a> including the nuclear issue and a two-state settlement for Israel-Palestine. However, the US maintained most of its unilateral sanctions which prevented development of an Iranian export economy (other than oil), which would have bolstered business support for reform.