Iran's President Decides To Not Meet U.S. President Obama (Updated)

Iran Applies Brakes to U.S. Mideast Plans -- Wall Street Journal

Tehran Decides Against Meeting of President at U.N.

UNITED NATIONS—President Barack Obama argued the U.S. case before world leaders for resolving the Middle East's deepest conflicts, but pushback from Iran dimmed hopes that had been building for a rapid leap forward.

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani's decision against meeting Mr. Obama—or even exchanging a handshake—at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday soured what American and European officials had hoped would mark an advancement in efforts to wind down tensions.

Mr. Rouhani followed that rebuff with an address to the U.N. in which he aired his hopes for reconciliation while holding firm on Iran's right to enrich uranium and criticizing some aspects of American foreign policy, including economic sanctions on Tehran.

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More News On The Iranian President Deciding To Not Meet U.S. President Obama

Officials: No Meeting for Obama and Iranian President -- Time
US Official: Obama-Rouhani Meeting 'Too Complicated' for Iran -- Voice of America
Obama and Iranian Leader Miss Each Other, Diplomatically -- New York Times
No handshake between Obama and Iran's leader, at least not this week -- L.A. Times
Iran's president can't even find a way to shake an eager Obama's hand. -- Wall Street Journal
Obama, Rouhani Meeting ‘Too Complicated’ For Iran -- ABC News
Obama pledges diplomacy with Iran, but he and Rouhani don't meet -- Reuters

My Comment: The Wall Street Journal's take on this Iranian refusal to meet President Obama sums it up best ....

.... Iran’s ruling clerics and Revolutionary Guard Corps remain ideologically incapable of reconciling themselves to the Great Satan. This shouldn’t surprise anyone who reviews the 34-year-history of Iranian rebuffs to American diplomatic overtures, which makes the U.S. embarrassment on Tuesday all the more acute.

Indeed.