Iran Can Get Respect When It Behaves Respectably

It was a shame but not all that surprising today when the awaited encounter between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rohani didn’t happen at the United Nations. It seems Obama offered to shake Rohani’s hand, but the invitation was declined. The last time leaders of the two countries met was 36 years ago -- during the reign of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. He’d been installed in a U.S.-backed coup against a democratically elected leader, only to be overthrown in 1979 by Islamic revolutionaries who held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

In other words, there’s a lot of history here -- the kind that makes opening a new chapter of less hostile relations difficult. Over the years, what each country wants from the other hasn’t much changed. The Iranians want to be treated with respect, and the Americans want Iran to behave respectably, especially when it comes to Iran’s nuclear program.