Iran's foreign-policy agenda

The surprise election of Mohammed Khatami as President of Iran on 23 May 1997 has prompted much speculation about a change in the country’s domestic agenda. Change in Iran’s foreign-policy agenda is likely to be determined by internal rivalries between moderates and radicals and by the reactions of Iran’s neighbours to the new President’s moves. Although Khatami’s freedom of manoeuvre is limited, modest improvements in relations with pro-Western Saudi Arabia and Egypt might eventually herald some movement in Iran’s relations with the US.