When the people of Iran celebrated President Hassan Rouhani's election as president, they were celebrating hope and expectations of a democratizing process and a sustainable economic development, along with the lifting of sanctions gradually and finally.

Rouhani does not want to betray the people who elected him and who gave him a mandate for change. When he went to address the United Nations, it was not a “charm campaign” nor was he “a wolf in a sheep’s clothing.” He was eager to persuade, unlike Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose entire speech at the United Nations was a series of insults to Rouhani, trying to dismantle whatever positive perception Rouhani has achieved. Netanyahu sought not only to reverse, but to mobilize, those who might have been persuaded, repeating ad infinitum the negative narrative that has characterized his provocative discourse.

The opening for negotiations with the five permanent members plus Germany, which is expected to meet in Geneva in a few weeks, is being projected by Netanyahu as if the 5+1 are falling into a trap. He hopes that this opportunity will be closed so that he can maintain his narrative of dictating how to deal with Iran, which ought to be up to the world community to decide.

This does not mean Iran is trying to close the “little opening” that President Barack Obama provided with a pragmatic approach when he stated after discussion with Netanyahu, ‘’Anything we do will require the higher standards of verification in order for us to provide the sort of sanctions relief that I think they are looking for.”