Whether these will be fulfilled remains to be seen but now is the time to get closer. Whilst the revolution expelled the Shah and his government, not to mention many highly qualified Iranians, it also expelled the US and all it stood for by way of its all too powerful political, military and cultural presence in Iran. The storming of the US embassy in Tehran in 1980 has left a bitter legacy. The Iranian government's support for radical Islamic elements in the Arab world, its opposition to the peace process and vehemently anti-Israeli line since the revolution have hardly helped to encourage a sympathetic American attitude. That said the recent election in Israel of Prime Minister Barak and the close relationship of our government with the US administration and the trust that engenders, are all signs that now is the time to move.
Progress is possible on all fronts - economic, trade, cultural and political.
The essential thing is that contact be conducted on a basis of mutual respect. We are not dealing with a western democracy but we are dealing with a country that is probably more democratic than it has ever been in its turbulent history. We are not dealing with a country enjoying western style human rights but we are dealing with an Islamic republic which has admitted millions of Afghan, Kurdish and Iraqi refugees and has its own rules and borders of conduct which have to be respected. Religious minorities are tolerated and even represented in the Majlis, but they have to take care. They can live their lives but without evangelism.