Talking and Listening to Iran

The Obama Administration wants a new relationship with Tehran. A look inside the country shows why that may be hard to achieve

Newsha Tavakolian / Polaris for TIME

A girl holds the Iranian flag at a celebration in memory of the founder of the Islamic Republic.

There's nothing like being surrounded by a crowd chanting "Death to America" on the day of the most historic U.S. presidential Inauguration in memory to make an American foreign correspondent feel homesick. The first day of my trip to Iran coincided with a new President's taking office in Washington and a demonstration at Tehran University in support of the Gaza Palestinians. Several thousand students gathered on campus and acted out a page from the standard Islamic Resistance playbook. "The blood in our veins is a gift to our leader," they chanted. "Israel will be destroyed, and Gaza is victorious." Later, part...

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