The most interesting spin out of the US in recent days is in a Saturday article in The Wall Street Journal by Jay Solomon, “U.S. Shifts Iran Focus to Support Opposition”.

The headline is a bit misleading, since the core issue is whether (in fact, how rather than whether) the Obama Administration will be pursuing and presenting additional sanctions against Iran: “The White House is crafting new financial sanctions specifically designed to punish the Iranian entities and individuals most directly involved in the crackdown on Iran’s dissident forces, said…U.S. officials, rather than just those involved in Iran’s nuclear program.”

The presentation, however, is telling. For weeks, the set-up for sanctions — for example, in the articles of David Sanger and William Broad in The New York Times — has been that they were essential to punish Iran for breakdown of enrichment talks and Tehran’s move toward a military nuclear capability. Now, for the first time, the message is not just that “rights” should take priority but that there may be a change of power in Iran: “The Obama administration is increasingly questioning the long-term stability of Tehran’s government and moving to find ways to support Iran’s opposition ‘Green Movement’.”

Read it: the authority of President Ahmadinejad is no longer assumed, even bolstered, by the US approach. An Administration source declares, “The Green Movement has demonstrated more staying power than perhaps some have anticipated. The regime is internally losing its legitimacy, which is of its own doing.”
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Tags: Afshin Molavi, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment, Council on Foreign Relations, David Sanger, George Mason University, Haleh Esfandiari, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Jay Solomon, Karim Sadjadpour, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, National Iranian-American Council, New America Foundation, New York Times, Obama Administration, Ray Takeyh, Shaul Bakhash, Suzanne Maloney, Trita Parsi, Wall Street Journal, William Broad, Woodrow Wilson Center