Iran's New President could be a Gorbachev

The election of Hassan Rouhani as President of Iran is as electrifying a moment as any in the recent past in the so-called Arab Spring. It was unexpected and unpredicted. Iran, of course, is not an Arab country and has a long history of trying to establish democracy, which has been in the past been frustrated by both Britain and the US.

Before the result, many pundits decried the election as cosmetic and pointless: 35 million Iranians emphatically disagreed and clearly expressed their desire for change. The catastrophic state of the economy was so intertwined in the voters' minds with incompetent foreign policy that the two issues became one.

The Islamic Republic, embodied in the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and the Guardian Council, perhaps surprised outsiders by not interfering and accepting the result. The extremists may still have some nasty surprises but enthusiasm for Mr Rowhani is a phenomenon that the regime will find it difficult to ignore.

Hassan Rouhani has been boringly dismissed by Western commentators as "a moderate Conservative and part of the regime" but his campaign was outspoken and brave. He has attacked radicals and "the plain-clothes people" who stop people in the street, as well as calling for political prisoners to be freed. And yesterday at his encouraging I press conference he called for the "old wounds with America to be healed".

Sceptics point out that Mr Rowhani does not control many of the levers of power. He does not control the Basij militia or the Revolutionary Guards and has no power over the judiciary, which will make it difficult for him to fulfil his promise on political prisoners. Nonetheless, both the reformist former President Khatami and former President Rafsanjani thought it worth coming out to make a public stateiment urging voters to back Mr Rowhani.

Mr Rowhani has experience in an extraordinary number of areas in the Islamic Republic. He has been a member of the clerical Assembly of Experts and the National Security Council, Deputy Speaker of the Majlis (parliament), Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces and nuclear negotiator. It must be an advantage that he is trusted both by Mr Khatami and Ayatollah Khamenei.

Sincerity should be subject to proof of course and a cautious approach with Iran is always wise. But there are real dangers in too grudging an approach and the opportunity created by this election will not last long. It would be a tragedy if the West reacts to Mr Rowhani in the same way that the US cold-shouldered Mr Khatarni after he helped with the invasion of Afghanistan and found himself labelled part of the "Axis of Evil". Mr Khatami failed to change Iran partly because of internal opposition but also because of a lack of encouragement from the West. He still blames Western inflexibility for undermining him.

It is not enough for the West to leave its existing offer on the nuclear issue on the table and say that it is waiting for Mr Rowhani to accept it. As Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former US National Security Adviser, has urged, the West should give up trying to put Iran into a special category of its own under the non-proliferation treaty and recognise, as it has with other states, its right to enrich uranium on its own soil.

The great advantage is that Mr Rowhani was nuclear regulator under President Khatami and knows the issues. It was on his watch that Iran suspended uranium enrichment. Mr Rowhani knows that his supporters desperately want a solution to the nuclear issue and that the economy won't improve without one.

The nuclear issue is made more difficult with Iran's involvemnent with Hezbollah in Syria and this seems on the point of being increased. Iran sees itself as protecting its national interests as Saudi Arabia sought to protect itself by sending troops into Bahrain.

Iran may be a domestic theocracy but its foreign policy is guided much more by national interest and security concerns than by religion. It would not have such a close relationship with Christian Armenia were it otherwise.

There can be no political solution to Syria without Iran's involvement, so the West should invite Iran to participate in talks with Syria.

If you isolate a country of 70 million people and try to cut it off from the outside world it is hardly surprising that forms alliances with non-state actors in the region. Simply tightening the screws with more sanctions will not help Mr Rowhani to persuade others to abandon distrust of the West. Ayatollah Khamenei consistently warns that dialogue with the US will be used to undermine the Islamic Republic. Nonetheless he has authorised direct negotiations with the US and has said that it is not inevitable that US will always be the enemy of Iran.

This election has again shown that the Islamic Republic is not all fanatics and radicals. The Soviet system produced Mikhail Gorbachev, whom Margaret Thatcher recognised as "a man we can do business with". The same applies to Hassan Rouhani, but he will need the West's help to deliver what he wants to do. A good start and a good gesture would be for the British Government to announce that it is reopening the Embassy in Tehran.

Lord Lamont of Lerwick is chairman of the British Iranian Chamber of Commerce but has no personal financial interest in events in Iran