Letter from the Publisher
September 2009
The ongoing mass trials of people associated with offences related to the massive demonstrations that followed President Ahmadinejad's disputed election victory is weakening the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Some of the defendants are officials, including ministers and deputy ministers that have served in this 30 year old regime for many, many years and by denouncing them the current authorities are in a way discrediting the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the eyes of its own citizens and the eyes of the world. These court proceedings have been denounced by opposition leaders in Iran as "show trials", have angered the international community and human rights groups, and have heightened internal political tensions. Iran's most senior dissent cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri has said these trials have "ridiculed Islamic justice" and has criticized the ruling system under Ayatollah Khamenei as a dictatorship in the name of Islam.
Let us for a moment imagine what the current Iranian scenario would have been like had the leadership honored the vote of the people for change and reform and had Mir Hossein Mousavi been elected as the new president instead of Ahmadinejad. A new positive image of Iran as a freedom loving nation with a full participatory democracy would have risen on the world stage. There would have been congratulatory announcements to the new president from world leaders and especially Iran's neighbors in the Middle East. The long awaited direct dialogue with the United States could have been under way to resolve the many issues between these two adversaries, including the nuclear enrichment crisis. We could have finally hoped for the Islamic Republic of Iran to possibly change its foreign policy and become an active partner for peace and stability in the Middle East.
Unfortunately though, the incumbent regime under the leadership of Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei have made this grave mistake to continue in a path of oppression and dictatorship and have plunged the country into an unprecedented state of crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has become a divided country and President Ahmadinejad is going to have a difficult time with his cabinet nominees and with running the administration. The nation will be facing serious challenges from the United States and the international community if it does not come to the negotiating table over its nuclear file by the end of September. The US Senate has readied a fuel sanctions bill against Iran that may pass very soon if there is no tangible progress on dealings with Tehran. Current signals are that Iran is cooperating further with the International Atomic Energy Agency to increased monitoring of its nuclear activities, and there is a report due to be released on Iran by the IAEA in early September. This report will be the basis for discussions for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions which the US, Britain, France, and Germany are expected to urge Russia and China to consider. We’ll have to wait and see the outcome of all this, but as always we urge the leaders of the Islamic Republic to prevent further turmoil and come to the negotiating table to resolve this looming crisis.
