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TEHRAN, Iran, Feb. 28 � Thirteen months after President Bush called Iran part of an �axis of evil,� and on the eve of a possible U.S.-led war against Tehran�s similarly vilified neighbor, Iraq, the Iranian government has quietly weighed its reputation as an international pariah against America�s superpower might. The Islamic theocracy�s conclusion, analysts and sources say, is that U.S. plans to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a threat.

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And in the Persian Gulf, Iran has reversed its blind-eye policy toward Iraqi oil smugglers doing a brisk trade in illegal crude. Although not officially part of the international coalition that enforces the blockade, the Iranian navy also thwarts Saddam�s contraband.
In its most serious engagement ahead of a war with Iraq, Iran has agreed to help the United States in search-and-rescue operations for U.S. pilots. The deal was worked out in a secret dialogue between Tehran and Washington last month.

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Analysts say Iran�s readiness to participate in the periphery of a U.S. war on its borders demonstrates the Islamic republic�s practical approach to the Bush administration�s policy in the region.
�It�s called active neutrality,� said Hermidas Bavand, an international relations professor and a former Foreign Ministry official in the shah and Islamic governments. �By accommodating U.S. military engagement in Iraq, the expectation is that [the war] could be used as a sort of breakthrough as far as the relationship between Iran and the United States is concerned.�

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Iran�s cooperation with the United States could be the Islamic theocracy�s ticket off Bush�s black list.
�Certain circles in Iran believed that a controlled Saddam is better than any other alternative. But common sense shows that the removal of Saddam would serve Iranian national interests,� said Bavand.

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If Iran succeeds in winning assurances from the United States that it is not next for �regime change,� Tehran�s ability to keep Islamic fervor in check during a conflict with Iraq will be crucial to America�s attempts to stabilize region after a war.

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I'm a little shocked that the U.S. would even consent to this. Not in a country when democracy is consistently stomped like ants on a pavement every day. But then, you have to wonder: could American influence fuel such an "uprising"?

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials told CNN Wednesday that "secret surrender" negotiations have begun with key Iraqi military officials in hopes some military units will not fight U.S. and coalition forces should there be a war.

Communications with these Iraqi military officials are not being handled by the Pentagon, but instead by other "elements" of the U.S. government, the officials said.

One senior official said some elements of the Iraqi military may have already agreed not to fight. This underscores assessments by both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency that the leadership around Saddam Hussein is "brittle." Officials have been making that assessment somewhat public as part of their effort to publicize Saddam's vulnerability.

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