For the United States, Iran is still very much part of the "Axis of Evil".
And nobody personifies that more than the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a man who wants Israel to disappear off the map and who is uncompromising on Iran's right to develop nuclear power.
And for his Iran, the United States is still very much the "Great Satan", the seat of "global arrogance".
And nowhere has that "arrogance" found greater expression than on Iran's doorstep - in Iraq - where the Americans currently have about 160,000 troops.
Yet here was the Iranian president flying into Baghdad, through skies controlled by American air power, to carry out the very first state visit by any leader since the Americans and their allies invaded five years ago.
He is not quite the only president to have been here, though. George Bush has been several times.
But what a contrast this was with those furtive visits, which were never announced in advance and sticking to heavily guarded US military bases.
Mr Ahmadinejad got the full red-carpet reception and send-off, with guards of honour, national anthems and all the trappings.
Busy schedule
And in between, he seemed to be all over the place, meeting government leaders, members of parliament, diplomats and intellectuals, and even going to pray in one of the Shia shrines here in the middle of the night.
And of course there were numerous press conferences, with a relaxed and grinning Mr Ahmadinejad putting across his basic message: Iran and Iraq are neighbours, they belong together and America is the odd man out.
The Americans, of course, were holding the ring for a visit they could easily have vetoed.
They left the Iranian visitor's immediate security and movements to the Iraqis and kept their own forces out of the way. All went well.
But it must all have been pretty galling for them, as their arch-enemy swanned in and canoodled with their proteges right under their noses.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7281058.stm
Stumble It!
"They say it is not possible to have a world without the United States and Zionism. But you know that this is a possible goal and slogan. Let's take a step back. [[[We had a hostile regime in this country which was undemocratic, armed to the teeth and, with SAVAK, its security apparatus of SAVAK [the intelligence bureau of the Shah of Iran's government] watched everyone. An environment of terror existed.]]] When our dear Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Iranian revolution] said that the regime must be removed, many of those who claimed to be politically well-informed said it was not possible. All the corrupt governments were in support of the regime when Imam Khomeini started his movement. [[[All the Western and Eastern countries supported the regime even after the massacre of September 7 ]]] and said the removal of the regime was not possible. But our people resisted and it is 27 years now that we have survived without a regime dependent on the United States. The tyranny of the East and the West over the world should have to end, but weak people who can see only what lies in front of them cannot believe this. Who would believe that one day we could witness the collapse of the Eastern Empire? But we could watch its fall in our lifetime. And it collapsed in a way that we have to refer to libraries because no trace of it is left. Imam said Saddam must go and he said he would grow weaker than anyone could imagine. Now you see the man who spoke with such arrogance ten years ago that one would have thought he was immortal, is being tried in his own country in handcuffs and shackles [[[by those who he believed supported him and with whose backing he committed his crimes]]]. Our dear Imam said that the occupying regime must be wiped off the map and this was a very wise statement. We cannot compromise over the issue of Palestine. Is it possible to create a new front in the heart of an old front. This would be a defeat and whoever accepts the legitimacy of this regime has in fact, signed the defeat of the Islamic world. Our dear Imam targeted the heart of the world oppressor in his struggle, meaning the occupying regime. I have no doubt that the new wave that has started in Palestine, and we witness it in the Islamic world too, will eliminate this disgraceful stain from the Islamic world."