The Obama Administration is sending signals that President Obama might meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during the UN General Assembly next week in New York. 

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, “I would say that we obviously notice a significant change in language and tone from the new Iranian government when compared to its predecessor.”

Secretary of State John Kerry called Rouhani’s remarks on Iran’s nuclear program “very positive.” In an interview with NBC, Rouhani claimed that Iran had “never pursued or sought a nuclear bomb and we are not going to do so.”

So it seems that the Obama Administration is buying the Iranian regime’s propaganda hook, line and sinker. It is also profoundly naive. Carney’s notion that Iran has a “new government” is nonsensical. The Mullahs run the show. As for Rouhani, he has been an insider since before the Iranian Revolution. He is no reformer. If he was, the Mullahs would have never let him seek office. 

However, it could also be that the Obama Administration’s opening the door to dialogue with Iran is the price they are paying for doing business with Vladimir Putin on Syria. When you do business with Putin on Syria, you are doing business with Putin on Iran. 

To give one an indication that nothing has changed, Rouhani blamed Israel for “instability” in the Middle East during his NBC interview. For its part, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued the following statement:

One should not be taken in by Rouhani’s deceptive words. The same Rouhani boasted in the past how he deceived the international community with nuclear talks, even as Iran was continuing with its nuclear program.

When it comes to Israel, I believe Obama and Rouhani are kindred spirits. So I fear that Israel’s warnings will fall on deaf ears. The Obama Administration is hearing what it wants to hear.