Moussavi Spokesman Knocks Obama and Praises … Obama

I should have seen this yesterday, but Foreign Policy conducted an interview with Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the Paris-based “external spokesman” for Mir Hussein Moussavi. Makhmalbaf is deeply unhappy with President Obama’s recent observation that there are certain continuities between Moussavi and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

As you may know, former President Mohammad Khatami, who is supporting Mousavi at the moment, was in favor of dialogue between the civilizations, but Ahmadinejad talks about the war of the civilizations. Is there not any difference between the two?

We [Iranians] are a bit unfortunate. When we had our Obama [meaning President Khatami], that was the time of President Bush in the United States. Now that [the United States] has Obama, we have our Bush here [in Iran]. In order to resolve the problems between the two countries, we should have two Obamas on the two sides. It doesn’t mean that everything depends on these two people, but this is one of the main factors.

That sounds like he’s disappointed in Obama — what with wanting “two Obamas on both sides” — and it’s not hard to understand why. It’s understandable for a domestic context that Obama emphasize that Moussavi’s election won’t immediately transform Iran into a U.S. ally. But for the international audience that Obama’s words inevitably reach, it sounds way too much like he was saying nothing would change. How could a Moussavi aide help but be upset by that?

Here’s what Obama told John Harwood on Tuesday:

The difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised. Either way, we were going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States, that has caused some problems in the neighborhood and is pursuing nuclear weapons. And so we’ve got long-term interests in having them not weaponize nuclear power and stop funding organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas. And that would be true whoever came out on top in this election.

Stick to talking about fair elections, maybe, and play up the emphasis on human rights.

Also: Makhmalbaf does not sound like a man ready to back down.

FP: Would Mousavi be willing to accept some sort of power-sharing arrangement? Say, Ahmadinejad remains as president but Mousavi becomes prime minister once again?

MM: This is not a solution, because people do not want Ahmadinejad at any level. He is so illiterate that — the millions of people in the street — he called them trash. And now, people are telling him: You are trash.