Eradicating the "Little Satan": Why Iran should be taken at its word

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has delivered in one of his speeches that Iran do not intend to harm any nation nor will they be the first to attack any nation. He said that they are a peace-loving country who would only wish to live and to let live in peace. However, many of the Western and non-Western experts do not believe on what the leader is saying as there is a need to distinguish between image and reality as well as between ideology and strategy. Meanwhile, the acquisition of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran has transformed the attitude of the Iranians. Yet, most analysts agree that his proclamations will only serve as a bargaining chip as it will give something away in exchange for normalized relations with the West.