PAAIA Supports the U.S. Government Considering Establishing an Interest Section in Iran - An interest section would be responsible for protecting America's interests in Iran by, among other things, providing consular services to Americans visiting Iran, processing visa applications for Iranians wishing to travel to the United States and monitoring developments on the ground. 7/19/08
Peace Advocates Act to Stop War With Iran - Member groups of United for Peace and Justice will hold actions across the United States July 19-21 to press Congress to take action to prevent war with Iran. 7/19/08
These enemies have faces - The looming Iran-Israel confrontation has a seemingly deterministic quality to it. Listening to the politicians, one gets a sense that powers beyond our control are pulling us toward a 21st-century disaster. Yet a great deal of the force propelling us into confrontation is fueled by ignorance and dehumanization. Israel is demonized as "Little Satan," while Iranians are portrayed as irrational Muslim extremists. -Haaretz 7/19/08
Iran volleyball team routs UAE - Iran's Peykan volleyball team has beaten the UAE's Al-Nasr at the 19th Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan. -Press TV 7/19/08
Rice acknowledges US policy shift on Iran - The United States has shifted position on diplomacy with Iran by sending a senior envoy to Geneva to participate in nuclear talks with Iran's top negotiator, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confirmed. -AFP 7/19/08
Hezbollah's formidable weapons arsenal under fresh scrutiny - Lebanon's new government is slated to review the militant Shiite party's weapons as part of a national defense strategy once it takes office. The prisoner swap with Israel has given Hezbollah new leverage. -CSM 7/19/08
Russia's Gazprom signs major energy deal with Iran - The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Russia's giant gas company Gazprom have signed an agreement for the development of Iran's oil and gas fields. -MNA 7/18/08
President of Peace Action Maine Returns From Iran - Waterville native and Portland resident Eric Hooglund, a politics professor at Bates College and President of Peace Action Maine, has returned from his most recent trip to Iran. Upon his return, he called for diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iranian governments, and expressed concern about the introduction of resolutions into both houses of the US Congress that would authorize the President to initiate a naval blockade of Iran. 7/18/08
Mona's Dream - Bahá'í Girl's Martyrdom Story Set To Become a Mel Gibson - Jack Lenz Co-Production Movie -Darius KADIVAR 7/18/08
Taming the hawk - It may be too early to proclaim an end to the "Cheney era", but Washington's decision to participate in Saturday's nuclear talks with Iran and send diplomats back to Tehran is a very significant shift. -Guardian 7/18/08
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Rastak- Rana: Traditional Music of North of Iran
US presence in Geneva meeting opportunity for Washington: Iran - Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Thursday that the participation of the US Undersecretary of State William Burns in nuclear talks in Geneva is an opportunity for Washington. -IRNA 7/18/08
Rocky Mtn Revue: Iranians about basketball, not politics - Samad Bahrami and his teammates are visiting Utah on a mission clouded by grave political overtones. But it has nothing to do with missile tests, nuclear ambitions, terrorism or the threat of war. For them, it's all about basketball. -Salt Lake Tribune 7/18/08
Hague Tribunal Figures in Terror Case Involving Iran, Chicago Museum - Iran is in a standoff with a federal court in Chicago concerning information a judge has ordered to be turned over to lawyers for terrorism victims who hold multimillion-dollar legal judgments against the Islamic Republic because of its support for the terrorist group Hezbollah. -NY Sun 7/18/08
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Keep watch on the hawks - US policy on Iran seems to be softening, but the world must stay vigilant to avert the threat of war -Abbas Edalat, Guardian 7/18/08
Iran Sends Mixed Signals On Eve Of Nuclear Talks - In mid-June, the so-called 5+1 group of countries tasked by the UN with negotiating with Iran over its contested nuclear program offered Iran a broad package of incentives, including assistance with its civilian nuclear program, in exchange for the suspension of uranium enrichment. Iran rejected a similar proposal two years ago. But this time it responded with a smile, not a sneer. -Hossein Aryan, RFE 7/18/08
The American dream invades Iran - The proposed opening of a US interests section in Tehran is not, as seen by many, an act of reconciliation by the US. Nor does it represent a victory for the doves in the state department in relation to the US government's foreign policy. -Masoud Golsorkhi, Guardian 7/18/08
Iran calls nuclear talks positive - Iran's Foreign Minister said Friday that forthcoming nuclear talks in Geneva and the participation of a U.S. diplomat for the first time look positive and he expects progress. -AP 7/18/08
France and UK reduce trade ties with Iran - The British and French embassies in Tehran have dramatically scaled back their trade sections amid a slowdown in business ties with Iran caused by international sanctions. -Financial Times 7/18/08
The US-Iran Foreplay - First there were the fireworks (war games and missile works). Now U.S. and Iran are preparing to sit at the nuclear negotiations table in Geneva this weekend. There is also a lot of excitement building up that within a month U.S. will announce opening of a diplomatic outpost in Tehran, after 30 years of absence. On top of that the two sides have been engaged in a lot of signaling and winking in the last few weeks. 7/17/08
Spiegel article claims "first human rights charter" is a hoax! - Persia is under attack! First came the 300 Spartans; and now the Spiegel article! The 300 were bunch of good looking and brave guys who fought this vast army of nasty looking and savage Persians. Ok. I can take that; even though from that savagery not much is left in me. In fact I could've really used a bit of that when confronting ... -Ali Moayedian 7/17/08
Reports: U.S. To Establish Diplomatic Presence In Tehran - Newspaper reports this morning are full of speculation that Washington is ready to go ahead with plans to send a small group of diplomats to staff a U.S. interest section in Tehran 7/17/08
Hula-Hooping for Peace at the Democratic National Convention - I, Melody Moezzi, will be hula-hooping for peace in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. I am an Iranian-American. I have two homelands: the United States and Iran. I am not half-Iranian. I am not half-American. I am 100% Iranian and 100% American. Thus, peace, particularly between the US and Iran, is not simply a political issue for me: It is deeply personal. 7/17/08
Teacher's Workshop on Iran: A Successful PAAIA Initiative in Educating American Educators - From July 8 to 11th, PAAIA sponsored the Summer Teachers Workshop, an annual event organized by the World Affairs Councils of America. Each year, twenty high school teachers from across the country are accepted to partake in a three-day emersion program concentrating on a particular region or country. 7/17/08
NIAC Welcomes US Participation in Nuclear Talks - While the State Department characterizes the meeting as a "one-time deal", it signals a significant shift in U.S.' long-standing policy and demonstrates a positive step towards reducing the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran. 7/17/08
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Israel threatens to wage illegal, "pre-emptive" military attack on Iran - On Monday July 14th Israel's senior defence official, General Amos Gilad during an interview with BBC Radio four's Today programme said that Israel is preparing itself to take military action against Iran and that it would do so if diplomacy fails. -CASMII 7/17/08
House Iran Resolution Would Send Alarming Message to President Bush - The House Foreign Affairs Committee may soon begin considering a resolution offered by Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.) that would prohibit exporting petroleum to Iran and impose "stringent inspection requirements" on all people, vehicles, and cargo going in and out of the country. This legislation has sent off alarm bells throughout the peace and security community. 7/17/08
Novatans work to develop antibiotic super-bugs can’t beat - Siblings Ron and Kathryn Najafi, a pair of Novato-resident researchers, aren’t just looking for new drugs to fight the growing problem; they’re developing an entirely new class of anti-bacterial compound from scratch. -Novato Advance 7/17/08
U.S. Shifts Policy, To Send Envoy To Iran Nuclear Talks - U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns will join European Union foreign-policy chief Javier Solana and envoys from China, Russia, France, Britain, and Germany to attend talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in Geneva on July 19. -RFE 7/16/08
Persia: Ancient Soul of Iran - What's so striking about the ruins of Persepolis in southern Iran, an ancient capital of the Persian Empire that was burned down after being conquered by Alexander the Great, is the absence of violent imagery on what's left of its stone walls. Among the carvings there are soldiers, but they're not fighting; there are weapons, but they're not drawn. Mainly you see emblems suggesting that something humane went on here instead -National Geographics 7/16/08
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US Official: Top American Diplomat to Attend Talks With Iran - A senior U.S. official says the United States will send a top diplomat to participate in talks with Iran about Tehran's nuclear program at a meeting Saturday in Geneva. The U.S has previously refused to attend any talks with Tehran on its nuclear program until it stops enriching uranium. 7/16/08
Open Letter from an Iranian to US Congress - Honorable Ladies & Gentleman! It was with great dismay that I, and many of my fellow Iranians in Iran and abroad, learnt of the regrettably widespread support by you in the U.S Congress, for the Resolution HR 362. -Mehrdad Shahabi, Tehran 7/16/08
Kazemi plans to be first Iranian to receive U.S. hoops scholarship - One week ago, in an episode of U.S.-Iran relations that did not make anyone's evening news, the 18-year-old captain of the Iranian junior national team took a pass from an American teammate, drove to the basket and dunked with such authority that some Division I coaches in the gym began curiously examining his bio page in the Reebok All-American Camp's handbook. -SI.com 7/16/08
Prevent War With Iran - The question now is whether we will pursue another illegal and disastrous war, which the American people—including Jewish Americans—don't want. Will we destroy more American lives and those of Iranians. -YES Magazine 7/16/08
Iranian Swimmer Sets New Record - Iranian swimmer Mohammad Alirezai has finished fourth in the 200m breaststroke event in Croatia, setting a new national record. Alirezai is qualified to swim in the 100m breaststroke in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the first time in Iran's history. -Press TV 7/15/08
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Historical Amnesia: Iran Air Flight 655 - Mm-hmm. Could this be true? Could the spokesman for the State Department not know anything about the role that the US played in the Iran-Iraq war in general and Iranian Air Flight 655 in particular? Is it possible that the entire US Department of State is ignorant of that history? Is it conceivable that the current US policy towards Iran is being made by a host of ignoramuses? -Sasan Fayazmanesh 7/15/08
Iranian Writer Porochista Khakpour in Contention For $115,000 Dylan Thomas Prize - Porochista Khakpour, who was born in Tehran, Iran in 1978, is one of the nominated writers for her first novel, Sons and Other Flammable Objects. She received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and her MA from Johns Hopkins University. 7/15/08
Iran to powers: No more 'condescending' atom talks - Iran has told big powers it will enter no more "condescending" talks meant to scrap its nuclear program but wants to negotiate a broader peace and security deal, according to an Iranian letter leaked on Tuesday. -Reuters 7/15/08
President George W Bush Backs Israeli Plan for Strike on Iran - President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official. -The Times, UK 7/15/08
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Call to Action July 19-21: No War With Iran - Responding to the renewed threats of a U.S./Israeli attack on Iran before President Bush leaves office, United for Peace and Justice calls for coordinated Days of Action across the United States on July 19-21. Now is the time to speak out against any U.S./Israeli military attack on Iran. 7/15/08
Talking to Iran's Only Jewish Member of Parliament - Morris Motamed is the only Jewish member of Parliament in Iran's Majlis, and is the official representative of the largest (25,000) Jewish community in the Middle East diaspora outside of Israel. -Counterpunch 7/15/08
Are sanctions against Iran legal? - Prof. Muhammad Sahimi: The legal grounds for UN sanctions and Res. 362 have not been established -The Real News Network 7/15/08
Tehran is Hot - This wish goes for the recent package presented to Iran by the group of 5+1 brought over by a high delegation headed by Mr. Solana. Many hope that it will somehow and eventually be accepted by Iran, given that Iran right to sovereignty is accepted and silly threats and sanctions are lifted. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran 7/14/08
Iran one year on: Osanloo still jailed, workers still oppressed - A year to the day since his violent arrest the ITF, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Amnesty International are calling on the world not to forget jailed Iranian trade unionist Mansour Osanloo. 7/14/08
Ahmadinejad Willing to Consider US Diplomatic Office in Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he is willing to consider a U.S. diplomatic office in Tehran. He made the comment Sunday in response to a question after a cabinet meeting. He said he welcomes the idea of expansion of ties between the peoples of Iran and the United States. -VOA 7/13/08
Death of a Teahouse Painter: Ahmad Khalili (1943-2008) - One of the last survivors of Iranian teahouse painting, Ahmad Khalili died of lung cancer at Tehran's Kasra Hospital on Saturday evening. He was 64 years old. 7/13/08
Moin was another Arash whose arrow was his language: litterateur - Moin passed away on July 3 marking the anniversary of the death of Iranian hero Arash the Archer, who died after shooting an arrow to mark the border of Iran and Turan. Moin was another Arash whose arrow was his language, literary scholar Qadamali Sarami remarked during the commemoration of Moin's death. 7/13/08
Beijing Olympics: Iranian Hercules will be there! - Head of Iran's Weightlifting Federation has ruled out Friday the speculations over Hossein Rezazadeh's absence in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 7/12/08
Europe Gets Increasingly On Board With Iran Sanctions - In the international showdown over Iran's nuclear program, Europe is the player with the greatest economic leverage in Tehran. But Europe has been reluctant to use trade ties to press Iran to give up uranium enrichment. Not anymore. -RFE 7/12/08
Israel Hints at Pre-emptive Attack on Iran - The sabre-rattling over Iran’s nuclear progamme has grown louder as a defiant Tehran claimed to have conducted missile tests for a second day running, the US warned that it would defend its interests and its allies in the region, and Israel hinted it was ready to stage a preventive attack to destroy Iranian nuclear installations. -Independent 7/12/08
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Is There an Oil Shortage? - The popular perception of the recently skyrocketing oil price is that there is an oil shortage in global energy markets. The perceived shortage is generally blamed on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC) for "insufficient" production, or on countries like China and India for their increased demand for energy, or on both. -Ismael Hossein-zadeh 7/11/08
Iran's Civil Society Movement Sets Up "National Peace Council" - On Thursday July 3, the National Peace Council in Iran convened its first meeting. Tens of prominent individuals engaged in various spheres of political, social and cultural work held the inaugural meeting of the founding committee of the National Peace Council. 7/11/08
Iran: Learning the Lessons of Cambodia and Iraq - While, expanding the Iraq war into Iran may serve the president's immediate interests by distracting the public from focusing on more pressing issues like inflation, unemployment, world food shortages, global warming, the energy crisis, the growing Chinese and Russian threats, or most importantly – justifying his Iraq legacy, Mr. Bush fails to realize that geo-politics doesn't mean much to someone whose relative you just bombed. -Simbala Martin 7/11/08
Bush's War Betrays Sage of Monticello's Vision for Liberty - George W. Bush's recent speech at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home highlights contrasting presidential legacies for advancing liberty in the world. -R.K. Ramazani and W. Scott Harrop 7/10/08
Iranian Cyclists Planting Trees For Peace - Santa Cruz to Host Tree Planting (on July 10) with Iranian Couple Cycling Around the World for Peace & Environmental Conservation 7/10/08
Oppose the Congress' War Resolutions Against Iran - The U.S. House of Representatives is considering a resolution (HR 362) that calls on the Bush administration to take strong action against Iran, including a naval blockade of its ports. A similar resolution is being considered by the Senate (SR 580). -Muhammad Sahimi 7/9/08
Iran Test Fires Medium-, Long-Range Missiles Amid Tensions with US, Israel - Iran says it has test fired nine long- and medium-range missiles "in response to threats coming from the United States and Israel." State-run Press TV said the missiles were fired by a unit of the elite Revolutionary Guards from an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert and included a Shahab-3 missile, with a 2,000-kilometer range, which was carrying a conventional warhead weighing one ton. 7/9/08
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HR 362 and the Alarming Escalation of Hostility Towards Iran - The current tension among political observers as to whether the U.S. and/or Israel will undertake military action against Iran before president Bush leaves office has been greatly intensified by the prospect that Congress will pass a frightening resolution, HR 362, as early as this week. -Common Dreams 7/9/08
The Iran Question - Meanwhile, the war drum will continue to beat - the hollower the louder. As Washington and Tel Aviv keep letting it be known that “all options are on the table”, and the Unites States Navy embarks on yet another set of war exercises in the Persian Gulf, their Iranian counterparts thump their own chests and threaten to annihilate the enemy in case of any attack upon Iran. -Kam Zarrabi 7/8/08
IDB Award for Saideh Ghods, the Mahak chief - Mahak is a non-governmental organization dedicated to caring for children with cancer in Iran. It runs a large hospital in northern Tehran on private donations. Among Mahak's many successes I would like to inform you of one of its recent ones. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran 7/8/08
Building Connections at Camp Ayandeh 2008 - Iranian Alliances Across Borders is pleased to announce the success of its third annual Iranian-American leadership camp, Camp Ayandeh. Camp Ayandeh took place during the week of June 22-June 28th, 2008 at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. With 70 campers and 31 counselors and staff, this year marks IAAB's largest camp group yet. 7/8/08
Americans Don't Know: There's A Plan On The Table To End The Nuclear Standoff - Here's what those promoting military attacks and blockades on Iran don't want Americans to know: there's an offer on the table that could resolve the dispute over Iran 's nuclear program and allow both sides to claim victory. -Just Foreign Policy 7/8/08
Tirgan Festival CEO Talks to Salam Toronto - Today, there are a myriad of activities in and around the Toronto area pertaining to Persian culture. Talks, music concerts, live theatre, dance competitions, dinners, festivals; at times there is enough going on that the typical Iranian-Canadian living in the Greater Toronto Area can sometimes find that they have too many options. -Azim Ahmed 7/7/08
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Taliban in robe versus Iranian Heritage - In June 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Blanche M. Manning ruled to seize Persian antiquities on loan to the University of Chicago's and Chogha Mish collection at the Oriental Institute, as well as the Herzfeld collections kept in the Field museum in Chicago, on behalf of victims of a 1997 Jerusalem terror bombing. -Bahram Bahrami 7/3/08
Cheers to Shiraz - Sitting on the patio at an Irish pub on King Street in downtown Toronto with half-empty glasses of red wine, waiting for nachos, we talk wine. Sauvignon, Merlot, or Shiraz. Sweet or dry. Mature or young. On colour we can agree, but everything else led to controversy. A ceasefire begins only when I started talking about my favourite type of wine. I prefer Shiraz -- not because of its taste, but because of the name. -Shabnam Janani 7/2/08
Sara Mobayen: A talented young photographer - Sara Mobayen is a talented young lady who has taken some magnificent pictures of the children she has come across in the eastern part of Iran near the border with Afghanistan. We went to her exhibition "Dust and Dream"ť at the Golestan gallery where we met the famous Mrs Lili Golestan who has helped and encouraged so much young talent since she started her gallery over 20 years ago -Syma Sayyah, Tehran 7/2/08
Report: Iran Human Rights Seminar in San Jose, California - Everyone at the recent Iran Human Rights Seminar in San Jose got a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). During the presentations there was much discussion of religion, and it is possible to review the event by comparing the UDHR to a much older declaration in the Bible. -Ari Siletz 6/26/08
January across the central desert of Iran with Benjamin Hewett - January 2008 we received British sculptor, Benjamin Hewett (Ben) who came to our Paradise. Ben participated in the; Dream of Peace, the 15th Environmental Art Festival in the Persian Gulf, working individually and helping us to realize other collaborative projects, supporting peace and a reaction against war. Then Ben traveled to different parts of Iran and exploring our country, in some areas he continued to produce sculptures. -Ahmad Nadalian, RiverArt 6/23/08
Are They Really Oil Wars? - A most widely-cited factor behind the recent U.S. wars of choice is said to be oil. "No Blood for Oil" has been a rallying cry for most of the opponents of the war. While some of these opponents argue that the war is driven by the U.S. desire for cheap oil, others claim that it is prompted by big oil's wish for high oil prices and profits. -Ismael Hossein-zadeh 6/18/08
