State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki was pressed by reporters Monday on the Obama administration’s reaction to reports of President Rowhani deleting tweets, and being met by protestors upon his return to Tehran.
Psaki replied she believed Iran was presenting itself in a different tone, and that the administration will enter any discussion with "eyes wide open."
Below is a transcript of the question and answer:
Q: On Iran still, I wondered if there was any reaction from this building to the reception that President Rouhani got when he landed back in Tehran. There were a number of supporters, but there was also quite a number of opponents who were throwing shoes at him as well. And also, so the news that some of these conciliatory tweets appear to be deleted almost as soon as his plane left the country. Have you analyzed any of this? I mean, does this -- do you feel that a lot of it was just a show and that they're being led by the nose of it?
PSAKI: I don't think we have much analysis from this end other than to say that we are going into any discussion eyes wide open. We are -- have been clear about what steps need to be taken from the Iranian side. It's clearly not easy given look at last week and how challenging a handshake was, even politically. But there's an openness -- more of an openness. There was a different presentation given last Thursday than what we had seen before in terms of the level of seriousness. And so we'll see what happens moving forward.
Q: So you feel that there's a genuine new openness there? You don't feel that it's just for show once he's here and then when he gets back home and he gets reined in by the hardliners, that it's all going to disappear in a puff of smoke.
PSAKI: Well, it's challenging to make too long-term or formal of an evaluation other than to say that the presentation that was given on Thursday was different in tone, in vision for the future than we had seen in the past.