American Iranian Council - AIC - A Platform for Dialogue

AIC President Returns from Second "Shuttle Diplomacy" Trip to Iran

The President of the American Iranian Council, Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi, has just returned from his second trip to Iran within the last four months, during which he has been engaging in extensive shuttle diplomacy with American, Iranian and British officials, law makers and civil society leaders. His month-long tour of Iran this July enabled Dr. Amirahmadi to closely examine the domestic circumstances of Iran, especially with respect to a possible normalization of relations with the United States. He told AIC Update that “Iran is gradually readying itself to embrace a more normal relationship with the United States. However, Tehran has little hope that it could resolve its nuclear enrichment issue within the multilateral channel of the UN Security Council. In sharp contrast, Iran is increasingly interested in engaging the United States bilaterally, which it now thinks is a better channel to resolving its disputes with both the United States and the UNSC”...(more)

Nuclear Geopolitics in US-Iran Relations: The Case for a Big Push toward confidence building

...What particularly makes the matter of Iran's intentions so intractable is that it is by and large deduced not from hard data or undisputed facts but from inferences, perceptions, and assumptions about the country and its leaders that often border on fiction. There are also the problems of expanding nuclear geopolitics and shifting political fault lines in the Middle East, the regional and strategic rivalries between Iran and its adversaries (the US and Israel in particular), the American occupation of Iraq, and decades of injurious interstate relations. Other complicating factors include the rise of new global powers and their growing influence in the Middle East, the declining world oil supply in the face of rising demand, and weakening of regional states in the face of new threatening global issues and informal regional actors including "street armies." The spiral conflict between Iran and its nemeses is also fed by radical Islam in the oil-rich region, and the rising power of conservative forces in Iran, the US, and Israel, leading to a total collapse of trust among them. This complex environment of US-Iran relations often leads to the obfuscation of facts and fiction. .....(more)

An Inteview With Dennis Kucinich

Dennis Kucinich: " There is no legitimate reason for the United States to engage in any action against Iran, and the Bush Administration has been doing everything it can to try to justify military action. I think it would be a grave mistake to do that. I work for peace. I’ve met with people around the world on this. There is grave concern that a military attack on Iran would destabilize the region. But there is just no question that based on numerous reports that the Administration has been slowly and steadily developing plans of attack"....(more)

This section brings to the forefront of our site changes that may be of interest to our visitors. Our team of writers and web developers keep the site constantly changing, always trying to bring you up-to-date factual information as well as thought provoking analytic pieces:

August 13: U.S. puts brakes on Israeli plan for attack on Iranian nuclear facilities

August 11: Iran, P5+1 to continue nuclear talks

August 8: EU Sets Sanctions on Iran, Inching Past UN Resolution

August 8: Study Cautions Against Strike on Iran's Nuclear Facilities

August 8: ISIS study: Iran war, a vain effort

Aug 6: Russia says it never set a deadline for Iran to respond to a P5+1 incentives package that requires Tehran to halt uranium enrichment ...(more)

Aug 6: Iran Faces New Sanction Threat

May 18: AIC Signs onto petition denouncing Hillary Clinton's remarks on "Obliterating Iran"

March 12: Iran Elections: A litmus test for Ahmadinejad

March 6: AIC President returns from Mideast tour, which included visits to Tehran and Dubai. An article detailing the highlights of this trip will be featured in the next AIC Update.

March 2: President Ahmadinejad visits Iraq on a historical trip, the two nations have had little to no ties since the Iran-Iraq war in 1980. Ahmadinejad reiterated several times throughout his trip that, "Iran has no need to intervene in Iraq", despite U.S. claims that the trip was an attempt to meddle into Iraqi affairs...(more)

January 22: AIC has published an article proposing a "Big Push" for US-Iran relations. The idea centers on a concerted non-conditional diplomatic effort to prepare for normalized US-Iran relations that begins with a change toward a more respectful tone. The article is entitled "Nuclear Geopolitics in US-Iran Relations: The case for a Big Push towards confidence building"

December 15: AIC has phttp://www.american-iranian.org/publications/aic-update/ublished a major article on the power structure and relations within the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran's politcal system and decision making are complex. While there is, of course, the legal structure, there is also the "de facto" way in which it operates. It is important to understand something of both.

November 16: The AIC has interviewed former political detainee in Iran's Evin prison, Ali Shakeri. Prior to his 140 day imprisonment, Mr. Shakeri had been a founding member of the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding of the Univeristy of California - Irvine. Mr. Shakeri has worked with and supported the AIC for many years, and has granted us an in depth and exclusive interview on his detention in Iran. Amongst issues discussed where, his time in solitary confinement, the overwhelming support that he received from the community during his detention and upon his arrival, and the reality of a war with Iran...(Full Transcript of the Interview)

October 23: PBS Frontline aired Showdown With Iran on October 23, 2007. This program is of great interest and importance to those seeking a better understanding of the AIC and how it has worked to improve the American-Iranian relationship. The AIC's work to help bring the U.S. and Iran together by means of the "Grand Bargain" proposal is featured in this documentary. Documents used by Mr. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times and the PBS Frontline team may be found on this site (documents in pdf format). The AIC is proud of all past efforts and initiatives taken to improve this difficult relationship. An improved relationship would benefit both countries and their peoples. The DVD will soon be available. Check back for details.

October 15: In "Iran and Nuclear Geopolitics in the Middle East," Dr. Amirahmadi presents and argument requiring the reader to reexamine his or her assumptions pertaining to the rise of Iran and its nuclear technological capabilities. Is the Irananian quest for nuclear energy a rational action that is nothing more than a bid for energy diversification and continued independence? Or, is it a mask for its real intention, that is, to build a weapons program? If this latter point turns out to be true, what are the consequences of it? Should the international community accept such a bid?

September 27: The AIC helped to organize a dinner event with the President of Iran, Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on his brief trip to New York City. This event involved a lengthy and lively exchange of ideas. President Ahmadinejad noted that he had learned important lessons and gained useful insights from his trip to the United States. The AIC brought nearly 10 of its members and supporters to meet with the President in order to share with him ideas on improving the American Iranian relationship. Many of these ideas related to the importance of more effective exchanges of academic, diplomatic, and business relations. (Over the next few days, we will include different commentaries and analyses of the President's visit to the United States, his speech at the U.N., and our understanding of where the oveall U.S-Iran relationship itself.)