One of the unexpected casualties of Sept. 11 was Iran's uniformly hard-line attitude toward the "Great Satan," the United States. The atrocities gave the country's reformists a much-needed moral and political boost, convincing many the time was right to push for better relations with Washington despite the objections of hard-liners and ideologues.
"There's a realization that we're confronting issues that place our interests in direct danger," says Hadi Semati, an adviser to President Mohammed Khatami, "that it is...
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