Iran: Threats into Opportunities?

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, has put his name to an Op-Ed in the Post that doesn't say very much. No surprise there -- I rarely read such statements from politicians, since they are carefully crafted to commit to nothing. But I found this part of the prologue interesting:

International politics is no longer a zero-sum game but a multi-dimensional arena where cooperation and competition often occur simultaneously. Gone is the age of blood feuds. World leaders are expected to lead in turning threats into opportunities.

I don't know if we can expect leaders to turn threats into opportunities, but it sure is fine when they can. I am not sure what to make of this "opening." I want it to be a good sign for relations between the US and Iran, but I have a bad feeling that we could talk all day with perfectly good will and still reach an impasse. Sometimes international tensions are just a lot of hot air -- like those between the US and Russia now, or between Japan and China over those useless islands -- but the US and Iran have a real conflict. They want the bomb, we don't want them to get it. But maybe they would be willing to accept nuclear monitoring and put off that ambition for a decade or so in order have sanctions lifted and get on with something like normal life. I could live with that.