Letter from the Publisher

November 2009

November 4th marks the anniversary of the occupation of the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979 by university students and other young leaders of the Islamic Revolution that deposed the Shah and brought in Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power.  This takeover and the ensuing taking of embassy personnel as hostages for over a hundred days cost Iran not only the break in diplomatic relations with the United States for all these past thirty years, but the Iran-Iraq war for eight years, sanctions that have hurt the economic development of the country, and led Iran to be classified as a rogue state.  Interestingly enough today, many of the people who were involved in that embassy occupation have now realized their mistakes, and some are even in prison because they are considered leaders of the reformist movement in contemporary Iran. The sanctity and immunity of diplomatic missions in all countries have to be respected by all parties in order for positive and constructive relations to continue in the world.

Continuing to the present mistrust of the Islamic Republic of Iran that exists in the West, the latest effort at an agreement to ship Iran's stockpile of low enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment for a research reactor in Tehran that makes medical isotopes is a very positive step in breaking the impasse that has frozen negotiations for the past year, and once implemented will hopefully lead to further progress in dealing with Iran's nuclear enrichment activities.  The U.S. and its allies have been pushing for the U.N .drafted agreement as a way to ease their concerns that Iran may use its nuclear program for covertly developing weapons capability. But it still remains to be seen if the agreement will be approved by Tehran, which passed its deadline to respond last Friday and is now saying it will give a response by the end of the week.  Several Iranian lawmakers, including the speaker of the Majlis, Ali Larijani, have spoken out against the draft International Atomic Energy Agency deal saying it is a way for the West to "cheat" Iran and that they see no connection between Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium and the fuel needed for the Tehran reactor.  And more recently Tehran announced on state media that it agrees with the plan's basic premise, but would seek "important changes" such as a step by step approach to send its low-enriched uranium to Russia for further processing.

Let us hope that by the time we go to print the outcome of these negotiations will be positive and lead to real implementation of a deal.  Even the patience of the American administration under President Obama is running out and the Islamic Republic must take concrete steps to allay fears and promote further dialogue in order to reach further resolutions.  The several crisis situations in the Middle East seem to be getting worse every day instead of better. There has been more violence and loss of life in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the past month, making October the most high casualty month since the beginning of the year.  There have been clashes in Jerusalem between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, and even uprisings in Yemen and suicide bombings in southern Iran.  The entire region is desperately in need of solutions to its many ongoing problems, and the politicians on all sides need to take this into account very seriously and take the risks necessary to implement the policies that guarantee a peaceful and prosperous future for the citizens of the Middle East and the entire world. The status quo cannot be sustained anymore and could lead to a further breakdown of civil society, loss of freedoms, and therefore more repression and violence.