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Iranian conservative says the US needs Iran

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian conservative Amir Mohebian discussed why he believes Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is pessimistic about the nuclear negotiations, how US policy in the Middle East has benefited Iran and how the United States is now in a position where it needs Iran to deal with regional issues.
Members of the Iranian army pray at a university as they attend for Tehran's Friday prayers, April 10, 2009. Reform minded youth see America as the land of opportunity and would like to see ties with the U.S. restored but conservative minded youth see the U.S. as the enemy and feel that the Islamic Revolution?s goals must be kept alive.   REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTXDXUQ
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Amir Mohebian is one of the most well-known conservative voices of the last two decades. He rose to prominence as a critic of the Reformists after the election of Mohammad Khatami in 1997. A professor of Western philosophy at Islamic Azad University, Mohebian was also one of the editors of the conservative newspaper Resala and established the Arya Center for Strategic Studies, a think thank. He is currently editor in chief of the Arya News Agency.

Mohebian is one of the founders of the Modern Thinkers Party of Islamic Iran, which is considered a modernist, moderate conservative party. The Modern Thinkers supports social justice and freedom and tries to resolve problems through dialogue with the political elite. The party defends pro-poor policies with the goal of reducing poverty and discrimination in Iran.

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