Letter from the Publisher

September 2008

I would like to begin this issue by wishing Muslims all around the world a very happy and blissful Ramadan as this holy month of fasting and prayer begins.  We hope that it will be a month of peace and joy for all of humanity and allow the world to heal from all the conflict and disasters that plague so many regions of the globe.

Moving on to the nuclear file, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has recently told reporters that his country is working with Javier Solana in planning a further round of talks with the 5+1 Group, hopefully later this month.  He also added that as a good will gesture Iran is ready to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the issue of the alleged studies of weaponization attributed to Iran by the United States.  On the other hand, Iran now has some breathing room given the recent diplomatic standoff between Moscow and Washington.  Here I must quote Mr. Vali Nasr, an Iran scholar affiliated with the Council of Foreign Relations, who says, “If you are no longer the greatest threat du jour then you are off the hook”, at least for a little while.  In the long run we hope that the Islamic Republic and the West continue on this path of negotiations to reach an agreement, otherwise Iran will still be facing the threat of another round of sanctions at the UN Security Council some time soon.

There are further positive signs coming from the Islamic Republic, and specifically from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, towards a possible rapprochement with the United States.  Mr. Ahmadinejad has given two live interviews from the gardens of the presidential palace in Tehran during the last month with major American television broadcasting stations.  He has portrayed a wiser and friendlier image on these broadcasts, in contrast to his previous three years of saber rattling rhetoric.  This is positive evidence to international observers that not all of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s advisors are of radical backgrounds, and that he is now listening to more pragmatic people around him.  Therefore with this better advice he is weighing his words before he speaks, and is clearly indicating that he is the man who can resolve the long-standing dispute between the United States and Iran. 

As part of this rapprochement the idea of opening a US Interest Section office in Tehran has received support from pragmatic groups in Iran, who believe that this will present a real opportunity for the United States to observe events in Iran firsthand and in the long run lead to more direct talks between the two nations.  With the recent Russian aggression in Georgia, this proposal has sustained some damage and has been opposed by the radicals who say that this is not necessary.  However, indirect talks are still continuing between Tehran and Washington and we hope that these will lead to more positive results in the near future.