Letter from the Publisher
November 2008
As we go to print this Issue Number 2 of Volume 17 of Al-Moujez-an-Iran we would like to express our thanks again to all our subscribers and clients for all their support throughout these many years for the newsletter and the work of our Centre. We are very grateful, and proud that our newsletter and services continue to be admired and appreciated by our clients as well as other research organizations focusing on Iran and the Middle East. This is the legacy of HE the late Jaafar Ra'ed, God bless him, who founded the Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies almost 25 years ago, and he would have been proud as well to know that his legacy has continued successfully with acclamation.
One major issue on every nation's mind is the presidential elections in the United States on November 4th as its outcome will affect US world policy for the next four years. All the latest polls point to a clear win for Senator Barack Obama, but we will not know for sure until all the votes are counted next week. What we do believe however is that no matter who becomes the next president of the United States of America, Washington's foreign policy will have to be different to be successful, especially in the Middle East. And although the fundamentals of America's geostrategic interests around the globe will not change much, there will certainly be differences of approach and doctrine between Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain. And according to international polls and mock global elections on the internet, an overwhelming majority of non-Americans prefer Barack Obama to John McCain, one reason being that he represents an attractive change to the battered image of America abroad resulting from the past eight years.
The other major issue confronting us all is the financial crisis hitting the entire world that has caused major declines in the stock markets and a credit squeeze leading to what is expected to be a global economic downturn. This in turn has resulted in a fall in oil prices, which is now negatively affecting the economies of the Middle East and the oil rich Persian Gulf nations. To their credit these nations have been wise to invest heavily in measures to diversify their sources of income and hopefully attain sustainable and steady growth without overdependence on oil and gas exports. It remains to be seen how this economic crisis plays out, but sadly most indications are that the world is in for a recession through 2009.
The internal politics of Iran were also on the newswires lately as the country contemplates the next presidential elections to be held in June 2009. Several prominent figures are slated to run against the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one of them being Mr. Mehdi Karoubi, a former head of the Majlis. There are also indications that former reformist President Mohammad Khatami may also run as a candidate, and Iran's moderates and reformist groups see him as the best chance for an end to the country's isolation. What really matters most and what will gain the respect of the international community is for the next elections in the Islamic Republic to be more free and fair. Iran is in need of an image change more so than America.
