"Young Iranians warn pressure could stren," AP, January 27, 2007.

"DAVOS, Switzerland - Shahryar Eivazzadeh runs a small software startup in Tehran, spends his spare time blogging and feels little affection for Iran's current regime. But when tensions with the U.S. are mentioned, he comes to his country's defense.

"The West has a wrong image of Iran, he says — "It's a very black-and-white, a very simplistic view," the 31-year-old said Saturday.

"He and other young Iranians warned at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that the growing U.S.-Iranian standoff and fears of U.S. military strikes could strengthen the hard-liners who now control their government."

[...]

"Many of those here said they felt that the key issue was for the United States and Iran to talk directly — something they have rarely done since breaking diplomatic relations after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the U.S. hostage crisis."


[Mohammedreza Jalaeipour, an Iranian student at Oxford University in Britain] 'expressed the frustration many Iranians now feel, telling one U.S. official here that the United States "helped create Ahmadinejad, by not honoring Khatami.'"

[...]

"Khatami, now a frequent Western speaker, lamented the 'wall' between the U.S. and Iran during separate talks at the Davos session. But he also pointed to the issue of pride, saying his country can only agree to 'just, equal talks' without preconditions. The U.S. wants Iran to suspend uranium enrichment before any talks."

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