Iran has recently elected a new leader, and with him a new attitude. For years they were under the leadership of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and he didn’t like America that much. He openly condemned America and made known the dual purposes of Iran’s nuclear development program. Ahmadinejad threatened us for years with the chance of nuclear weapons being developed by Iranian scientists.

However, Iranians have now elected Hassan Rouhani as their new President. President Rouhani has made clear that the intentions of their nuclear program are purely peaceful, and has expressed a very open and cordial attitude in cooperating with America.

Rouhani extended his hand to President Obama and requested that the two meet at the U.N. General Assembly and discuss the issues that America has with Iran’s nuclear program. While Obama rejected the offer, I believe he is completely wrong in trying to keep that door closed.

Iran, the long-time enemy of our ally Israel, has had a program developing nuclear technologies for years now. Israel fears that such a program’s purpose would be sinister in nature, developing weapons to attack the small country.

While Ahmadinejad may have had these intentions, Rouhani seems to be much different. Though he stands firm with the nuclear development, he is completely ready to talk about it. President Netanyahu of Israel probably wouldn’t appreciate us negotiating with President Rouhani, they would probably be open to it if the meeting were to be an attempt to help Israel.

Overall, I think President Obama missed a rare opportunity to peacefully resolve conflicts before they get violent. We can’t let these chances pass us by if we want to keep ourselves and our allies out of costly wars.