An influential Iranian cleric connected to hardliners in Teheran issued a powerful conciliatory signal yesterday when he denounced suicide bombings against civilians as a "crime" and came close to recognising the State of Israel.
Sayed Safavi, the brother of the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Gen Yahya Rahim Safavi, also called for a dialogue of Muslim, Jewish and Christian religious leaders to help to resolve the Arab-Israeli dispute.
His comments, in a letter to The Daily Telegraph, come as Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, holds talks in Teheran to warn the clerical regime that it must subject its nuclear programme to intrusive inspections and stop supporting terrorist groups in the region.
Senior British officials believe the letter "may be a sign of an important change by the regime".
Dr Safavi says his letter contains his "personal reflections". But it is understood the comments have the tacit approval of key elements of the Iranian regime, including hardliners described by British officials as "the forces of darkness".
The cleric's links to the Revolutionary Guards, a vital organ defending the regime, as well as his pedigree as a descendant of the ancient ruling Safavi dynasty, lend particular weight to his words.
Dr Safavi, a follower of Sufi mysticism who shares his time between London and Teheran, criticised the suicide bombers on the grounds that even in a military "jihad", or holy war, Islam does not permit the targeting of the innocent.
"For Muslims to kill civilians unconnected with any attack on them is a crime. This is not in accordance with Islam," he writes, "The principal law of Islam is, 'Don't attack civilians'. This includes Jewish, Muslim or Christian civilians." He added: "If we have an enemy, then our enemy's child and our own child have no involvement in our confrontation . . . It is not right to involve children who have no sin."
Islamic militants will still find room in his comments to justify their bloody actions.
The cleric accepts that "if there is no choice, no peace, no security, then the holy Koran says that when your enemy attacks you, you can fight him".
Moreover, Muslim extremists like to claim that Israeli civilians are not really "civilians" because most of them serve in the Israeli army and perform regular stints of reserve duty.
Nevertheless, Dr Safavi's comments are a rare departure in a region where suicide bombers - especially Palestinian militants who attack Israeli civilians in the name of Islam - are idolised and often receive the explicit blessing of Muslim religious leaders.
Dr Safavi's views on Israel are, if anything, even more revolutionary.
Israel has long regarded Iran as the most dangerous of its neighbours, sponsoring Islamist militants and developing nuclear weapons that directly threaten the existence of the Jewish state.
In his letter, Dr Safavi does not directly address the question of Israel's right to exist. But his comments implicitly accept Israel, and even sympathise with its fears. "Israel is scared of Islam. The Islamic world is scared of the West," he writes, adding: "The Israeli government may not be religious, but Israel is not a secular country. It sees around it a very scary situation. But if we share what terrifies us, we move beyond that."
He implies that Middle East peace talks have so far failed because they excluded religious figures. "Religious leaders are more patient than politicians," he writes, "Religious leaders should have a central role. . . We need dialogue between civilisations and cultures. This is the only solution that will bring peace."
The letter equates President George W Bush and Osama bin Laden, claiming both seek a "clash of civilisations", and denounces both Israel and the United States for carrying out acts of terrorism.
Nevertheless, his remarks amount to an unusually strong appeal to moderation and dialogue among foes.
It is unclear whether the comments will be endorsed by any of the factions in Iran involved in a seemingly perpetual struggle for dominance.
The fact that they were issued to Western newspapers will reinforce suspicions within the Bush administration that they are an attempt to deflect the pressure being applied by America and Europe since the end of the war in Iraq.
The United States has praised a series of student-led demonstrations as a cry for freedom, while the European Union has expressed alarm about Iran's nuclear programme, which it fears may conceal plans to build a nuclear bomb in the coming years.
Moreover, British and American officials accuse elements of the Iranian regime of sheltering senior leaders of the al-Qa'eda movement.
Intriguingly, Dr Safavi declares: "No Islamic country or organisation may legitimately use chemical or biological weapons."
