Washington’s Stance on Iran: Prospects for Change Under Obama?

President Obama’s campaign trail effectively changed America’s policies on Iran through its declarations of direct engagement with Tehran and, most controversially, discourse with Iranian leaders ‘without pre-conditions’. With the current stand-off between the US and Iran entering its fourth decade, and the task facing the US to produce a diplomatic breakthrough seemingly ever-more arduous, now could be the time for genuine diplomacy and negotiations between the two.