A moderate Iranian leader? to most Americans, that's an oxymoron. And President Mohammed Khatami didn't do much to change it in his ballyhooed interview with CNN last week. His style was genial, all right, but his policies were rigid. Everything was America's fault, he insisted. The U.S. was hostile, trying to dominate Iran and giving "unbridled support" to Israel, "a racist terrorist regime." He saw no need for resuming political ties with Washington, and felt that Iran would do just fine working with the Europeans and others "who are far more advanced in their foreign policies than the U.S."
And yet,...