I would like to thank the AIC for organizing this panel.

Also, I would like to express my gratitude to President Obama for his Nowruz address and I am hopeful that the talks with his leadership will based on mutual respect and interest. Let me tell you as an Iranian insider how I perceived Iran's Supreme Leader respond to the Nowruz Message of the President.
Ayatolah Khamenei felt Obama's remarks were so significant that he should be the first person to respond. He said "we are not going to be emotional and we will calculate and if the US would change, we would change too". And finally he asks for tangible steps.

Last year, he said that if I know that the US-Iran talk/relations is useful, I would be the first one to talk. Therefore, both sides should not miss this opportunity.