Backgrounder -- Iran struggles to define international policy

(CNN) -- There are conflicting signals from Iran about its possible desire to initiate official talks with the United States in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11.

The nation has condemned the attacks on America, but has also condemned the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan. Instead, Iran has called for a U.N.-led coalition to fight terrorism.

Iran's parliament said Monday the international fight against terror demands the nation begin negotiations with the United States. But shortly after that announcement was made, the nation's religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, condemned the idea.

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The apparent contradiction between the religious and political leaders of Iran is no surprise, given Iran's turbulent history since the 1970s.

While Iran is almost completely Muslim, the nation is deeply divided politically

On one side, Khameini continues to control the courts and the military. He is also supported by conservative fundamentalists who harbor deep hatred for the United States.

Khameini is the successor to Ayatollah Khomeini, who made international headlines in 1979 when he effectively took control of Iran. On November 4, 1979, militants overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took more than 50 Americans hostage. Khomeini (who died in 1989) praised the militants' actions. The hostages were released after 444 days. The United States and Iran have not had diplomatic relations since.

The current religious leader, Khameini, and Iran's more moderate parliament, which largely supports President Mohammad Khatami, are often at odds.

Mohammed Khatami is a reformist who enjoys the support of a growing number of young Iranians.

"You've had for the last 22 years a constant battle in Iran between the voices of democracy -- people who want to have their voices heard -- and the spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini and now Ayatollah Khameini, who are oblivious to the voice of the people and make policy by fiat," said Abbas Milani, chair of the Department of History and Political Science at the College of Notre Dame in California.

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Despite the chasm between Iran's religious and political leaders, even Iranian fundamentalists have a common interest with the United States in Afghanistan.

"(The Iranians') true position is not the position they are actually saying in public," said journalist Colin Barraclough. "They hate the Taliban, basically. There is a strong dislike to the Taliban. They are not sad to see the Taliban leave Afghansitan."

"Iran remains suspicious about U.S. intentions," said Barraclough. "They are very worried that these military operations will leave the U.S. with a substantial presence on Iran's eastern and northern borders."

In the weeks following the September 11 attacks in Washington and New York, U.S. and Iranian leaders have held indirect talks. Still, there are no illusions that the animosity demonstrated by each side since the late 1970s is ending any time soon.

Iran is still near the top of the U.S. State Department's list of nations that sponsor terrorism.