Publish Date: 10 September 2014 - 09:16

Tehran, Sept 10, IRNA - 'Iran Daily' on Wednesday reflected on US President Barack Obama's recent acknowledgement that Iran is not the problem in the Mideast region.

Obama's statement aims to appease the Islamic Republic that any global alliance against ISIL Takfiri terrorists without Tehran is doomed to fail.

The US and its Western and regional allies, who are facing the grave danger of the ISIL, fully know that they have no way but to include Iran in their alliance if they are determined to rout out the terrorist organization, added the English-language paper in its Opinion column.

The paper was referring to President Obama's admission, for the first time, in an interview with the NBC News on Sunday, saying: “I think, for ... perhaps the first time, you have absolute clarity that the problem for Sunni states in the region, many of whom are our allies, is not simply Iran. It’s not simply a Sunni-Shia issue. Sunni extremism, as represented by ISIL, is the biggest danger that they (Sunni countries in the region) face right now.”

Obama’s comments reflect a reality that unfortunately has been altered by Arab extremists, pressure groups in the US, and the Zionist lobby in the past three decades, noted the daily.

Diplomatically speaking, Obama's comments could be seen as an unofficial and implicit apology to Iran and at the same time suggest a positive step forward by the White House in reviewing its policies towards Iran, believes the paper. Since President Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013, Obama has sent positive signals from Washington to Tehran, an indication suggesting a change in the US approach towards the Islamic Republic, although a U-turn requires the full approval of Congress and the Zionist lobby.

It seems that Obama is striving to make history during the next two years in office by resolving the standoff between the West and Iran over its nuclear energy program. It should not be forgotten that Obama’s goodwill alone is not sufficient in this regard. Last year, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, Obama and Rouhani talked on the phone—an unprecedented move since Iran and the US severed diplomatic ties after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

However, Obama faces big challenges both from pressures groups at home and certain Arab countries in the Middle East in his efforts to remove disagreements between the US and Iran and these challenges greatly undermine his power.

Obama’s recent remarks also indicate that Washington has come to the conclusion that Iran is more capable than Arab countries in the fight against terrorism and extremism, concluded the paper in conclusion.

**1425