Iran students say time for U.S. to change policy

By Zahra Hosseinian

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Nariman Mostafavi says many Iranian students no longer hold the fierce anti-American views that drove their predecessors to seize the U.S. embassy in 1979.

Now the student activist says it's time for Washington to change and consider new policies toward the Islamic Republic.

As Barack Obama moves into the White House promising more engagement with Iran's rulers while threatening tougher sanctions, the radicalism of the embassy hostage-takers has given way to cautious hope among many in Iran's universities.

"If Obama sticks to his promise of change, there will be hope for the establishment of ties," said Mostafavi, who advocates reform in the Islamic Republic.

But like others, he is wary of predicting a big U.S. shift and also says much will hinge on Iran's own election in June, when hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, is expected to seek a second term.

"The election of Obama is only one factor," said Reza Sharifi, a member of Iran's main reformist student body. "Healing ties also greatly depends on who takes power in Iran."

Obama is likely to find Iran near the top of his foreign policy in-tray. Washington says Tehran wants to build a nuclear bomb. Iran, the world's fourth biggest oil producer, denies this and says its goal is building power plants to generate electricity.

George W. Bush led an aggressive drive to isolate the Islamic Republic but Tehran has shown no sign of halting its disputed nuclear work. Instead, its activities have gathered pace.

Obama has promised a different approach, emphasizing respect for the Iranian people and spelling out what Washington expects of its leaders. However, Obama's choice for secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has not ruled out military action if needed.

For some students, now may be the time to end the isolation of their country, where "Death to America" resounds at rallies.

"America is a superpower. It is a mistake not to restore ties with America," said Minu Samadi, a 24-year-old art student. "The embassy seizure was necessary 30 years ago. Now it is necessary to restore relations."

Students helped spearhead the ousting of the U.S.-backed Shah in the 1979 revolution. Then in November that year they stormed the U.S. embassy and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. That prompted Washington to cut diplomatic ties in 1980.

Mostafavi said there was now a different mood among students: "Since the revolution, students have changed. Those radical actions are no longer seen."

'FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE'

Debate in Iran about restoring ties has grown as politicians start maneuvering before Iran's presidential race.

Some politicians in past votes have talked of restoring U.S. relations to attract voters, albeit based on Washington agreeing to respect Iran's regional status and meet other demands. Politicians still demand "fundamental change" from Washington.

Some students, a powerful force for reform during President Mohammad Khatami's eight-year term, say if another moderate is elected in June it could help improve Iran's international ties. Ahmadinejad's critics say his fiery speeches have isolated Iran.

"But if the current (state of political) conditions continue in Iran, relations are unlikely to normalize," said Sharifi.

The student reform movement has been blunted by Ahmadinejad, who came to power after Khatami in 2005 and who critics say has cracked down on dissent, including pro-reform student bodies.

But analysts says students may now be emerging from their silence to play a bigger role in this year's vote.

"In the previous presidential election, the students were in a coma. Now they have come out of it," said Tehran University sociology Professor Hamidreza Jalaiepour.

Changing attitudes among some of today's students are mirrored among some of those who stormed the embassy in 1979.

"Never did we imagine that our act of protest would have a far reaching impact on the political history of our country, and of the region," former hostage-taker Massoumeh Ebtekar said in her 2000 account of the siege "Takeover in Tehran."

She was also part of Khatami's government that started to build better ties with the West. Under Ahmadinejad, ties have deteriorated.

AMERICA NOT A FRIEND

But students are not a single voice. Radicals remain a force. During protests over Israel's attacks on Gaza, some radical student groups, echoing actions of 1979, threatened to storm the diplomatic missions of moderate Arab states they said were not doing enough to stop Palestinian suffering.

One group broke into a British embassy residential compound, and Iranian media said they erected a Palestinian flag, before police ejected them. In the absence of a U.S. embassy, the mission of Washington's close ally is often a protest target.

The more radical students see little hope of change, even with Obama in office, and vow to uphold revolutionary values.

"We do not consider America a friend. Our revolution's goals should be kept alive," said conservative student activist Mohammad Saleh Meftah, whose own group opposed threats to storm embassies but held other rallies in support of Gaza.

"Ties with America should only be restored if Iran's interests and the revolution's goals are met," he said.

Revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini hailed the students for launching "a second revolution, greater than the first" by storming the U.S. embassy. Analysts say that silenced more moderate voices in the first post-revolution government.

Khomeini remains revered and the United States is still the "Great Satan" or "global arrogance" in political speeches.

But many students, when asked about America now, do not talk about hostility. For them, it is a land of opportunity.

"I love American technology and the American way of life. Why should we be enemies with America?" said Soheila Sadr, a 21- year-old English literature student.

Though not the only view, such young opinions are a major constituency in a country where 70 percent of the population is under 30. These youths have no personal memory of the revolution or the embassy siege. Instead, they are just living the results.