Letter from the Publisher

March 2009

The Islamic Republic of Iran celebrated the 30th anniversary of its Islamic Revolution last month; the revolution that overthrew the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and replaced it with that of Ayatollah Ruhhollah Khomeini and the other clergy that have followed since then.  Although Iran currently suffers from high rates of inflation and economic stagnation due to mismanagement and imposed sanctions, the Iranian nation as a whole must feel proud of some of the accomplishments its has achieved in the fields of science, technology, and art over these past thirty years.  Iran is now capable of producing its own rockets and has launched its own satellites into orbit, and is more or less self reliant when it comes to military hardware.  What is sad is that all this progress has unfortunately come at a heavy price of loss of individual freedoms and human rights in Iran under the conservative leadership of the ruling clergy.  What we all wish for Iran is really more democracy and freedom of choice along with better fiscal management so that the future generations of Iranians will be able to enjoy the successes of this intelligent and proud nation while joining the international community as a responsible and positive player.  

A recent comment made by an Iranian official regarding the history of the Persian Gulf State of Bahrain was taken out of context and blown out of proportion causing a flurry of high level diplomatic visits across the region.  This incident has been successfully diffused thanks to the efforts of Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani and Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouly, and the Emir of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin-Issa Al-Khalifa.  In recent statements Larijani stressed that Iran regarded Bahrain as a sovereign and friendly neighbor nation and enjoyed warm relations with it, and decried attempts made by some regional countries to create divisions and to overshadow the basic issue of the Islamic Ummah, namely the continuing crisis in Palestine.  And Mr. Mahsouly met with Sheikh Khalifa on the sidelines of a security conference in Manama and further reiterated that “Tehran attaches great importance to its friendly and warm relations with Manama and will not permit them to be harmed.”  The Bahraini monarch added,” We were highly concerned lest the emerged misunderstanding would permit the enemies to take advantage and lead to further insecurity and enmities in the region.”  The point here is given the volatile environment in the region all officials must be more careful in their public presentations and avoid inflammatory statements that only lead to unnecessary misunderstanding and provocation.