Window on Iran - Part 13

Fatemeh Kashevarz

Current Issues

On a very positive note, last week Mr. Robert Gates, the New American Secretary of Defense visited Dr. Javad Zarif, Professor of International Law and current Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister. The two had lunch in Dr. Zarif’s house in New York. If this is an indication of what is to come, may be the elections will impact the American foreign policy on Iran in a meaningful way, after all.

This is echoed in an article by Dr. Trita Parsi, President of NIAC, who predicts better days in the Iran/U.S. relations. Mr. Parsi observes: “It was Cheney and Rumsfeld who made sure that Washington dismissed Iran’s May 2003 offer to open up its nuclear program, rein in Hezbollah, recognize a two-state solution and cooperate against al Qaeda. Rumsfeld was also a driving force behind using the Mujahedin-e Khalq, an Iranian terrorist organization opposed to the ruling clerics, to weaken Tehran.” To read the whole essay, click on:  http://www.niacouncil.org/pressreleases/press484.asp
The latest BBC report on the subject, indicates that President Bush and Mr. Blair find themselves in agreement with the NIAC president. However, while inviting Iran to help with solving the Iraq problem, Mr. Blair did his best to be as insulting as possible warning the country ” with the consequences of not doing so.”  Sounds like an effective diplomatic gesture:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6141978.stm

Successful Iranian Americans

Iranian Americans continue to move to the main stream of American society with great personal achievements in various areas. Noosheen Hashemi, holder of a masters degree in science from Stanford, is a private investor and advisor to companies and nonprofits. Her approach to decorating and collecting, blending Japanese, Persian, and American arts has become a sensation:  http://www.forbes.com/2000/12/20/1220CandC.html

Social/ Cultural (Iran)

Last week Shahla Lahiji, one of the first Iranian women publishers and a noted activist was honored in Tehran. Ms. Lahiji, who has head the Roshangaran Publications for over 30 years, recently won the 2006 International Publisher’s Association Award for publishing a remarkable number of books by and about women. Many feminists attended the celebration held last Monday in her honor in Pegah bookstore in Tehran. Scroll down to see images of the celebration and of the bookstore: http://www.payvand.com/news/06/nov/1106.html

This one is a riot! No one will believe this is happening in Iran right now. Two Iranian siblings have revolutionized the way drug addicts and HIV/AIDS-infected people are treated in Iran. Doctors Arash and Kamiar Alaei now have clinics in 67 Iranian cities and 57 prisons and are a World Health Organization model for the Muslim world. The brothers were interviewed on September 28 in Washington after their visit to the U.S. National Institute of Health:    http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticleprint/2006/10/7a8ceb97-4fb8-4b22-b87c-ad2d304720cb.html