President Obama has made a series of overtures to Iran since taking office in January. "You could see it as the Iranian government leaving a bit of room open for negotiations with the US, especially considering the importance Obama has put on talks" said Mehrun Etedari, research assistant at the Saban Centre for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute, Meanwhile the parents of the journalist Iason Athanasiadis issued a statement appealing for the authorities to release their son, who was arrested last week on suspicion of what Tehran described as "underground activities". Full Article at The Telegraph