Though it is possible, I don't see the present riots in Iran leading to better relations with the West. In fact, I don't believe the riots have anything to do with setting up better diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.
There are probably people acting within the riots who are doing so for their own personal gain. There are those who are less radical than the present regime, but still radical. Then there are the ever constant rabble-rousers who are rioting just to have something to do. The group that wishes to make Iran a better place to live for all is probably minute.
The West has learned the hard way in recent history that every group they support in a coup ends up being a failure or a bigger villain than the one replaced. For America this is exemplified in Panama, Greece, Iran, and South Vietnam. We don't have a good track record of supporting the right people or groups. The present situation of support for a failed "leader" is in the West Bank. The West has chosen to support a blatant failure in Mahmoud Abbas who isn't quite the villain that Khaled Mashaal of Hamas is. It seems that in Foreign Policy, relativity rules.
What is happening in Iran is just normal for the region. There is nothing fantastic or hopeful about it. One radical replacing another solves no problems nor does it mean a brighter future. The riots are about a fraudulent election. The stealing of an election from Mir Hossein Mousavi. In Iran he is considered a reformist. In a free society he would be considered an extremist at best.
I do enjoy watching Iranians take to the streets and strike fear into the police, Revolutionary Guards, and the Ayatollahs. I especially enjoy watching Mahmoud Ahmadinejad getting flummoxed. This being said, when all is said and done, there will be no difference. There won't be a major revolution. There won't be an opening to relations with the West outside of what exists today. In other words, the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Then again. I do hope I am wrong.
