The balance of power in the Middle East

RK: this is like the 4th inning of a baseball game: the teams have warmed up and have seen each other’s strengths and weaknesses and they’re now ready to play serious ball. The two sides are pretty evenly matched, so you now have gestures and symbols and it’s now going to get very interesting. (There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes, so what are you seeing that would not signify a military confrontation?) inside Iran, the advisors around Khomeini, the real center of power, who have made statements saying the Security Council offer to Iran needs to be discussed and responded to. The Under Secretary of State testified a few days ago with a different tone as well, that the US is ready to engage with Iran on many levels. And this reflects the reality that fighting isn’t going to solve anything. (It’s hard to ignore some of the threats that have been made, like Iran’s missile testing.) You can’t ignore the missile testing but the testing also shouldn’t be exaggerated�these missiles aren’t new. The timing is not that interesting, there’s nothing all that new here. what is new is the more positive diplomatic language on both sides.