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نامه دکتر ابراهیم یزدی به ریچار فالک
Dr. Ebrahim Yazdi’s Letter To Professor Falk
Dr. Richard A. Falk
Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law and Practice, Emeritus
Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Emeritus
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey
Dear Professor Falk,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. As you know, after years of negotiations, Iran and the permanent members of UN Security Council plus Germany have finally reached an agreement on the most problematic issue of contention between them, one that has resulted in great economic harm to millions of Iranians and cast a shadow of a major war over the world. It is critical to note that inside Iran this agreement not only has the support of decision-makers in power, but it also has the widespread support of our people. Peace loving Iranians from all strata of the country, both supporters and dissidents of the present government, strongly support this agreement.
Unfortunately, is clear that there is a well-funded and powerful campaign to discredit the Obama administration’s diplomatic leadership in this effort and to block American’s participation in this international agreement. In Iran, we are following that campaign, filled with fear-mongering and demagoguery, with great concern. To many Iranians, the rhetoric of this campaign sounds very much like the drumbeat of a new war.
Conflicting interests between members of our global village are expected. Attempting to resolve such differences by threats and use of force and imposition of unilateral solutions is a threat to global peace and unacceptable to most people. The terrible consequences of Americans giving in to such rhetoric during the Bush administration, leading a bloody and costly military invasion and occupation of Iraq, have left deep scars on the collective consciousness of peace loving people around the world, including Iran. The world and America is still paying the terrible price for that mistake.
In the past you have bravely warned Americans of such paths, such as your challenge to the legality of the Vietnam War and similar military interventions. Regarding the 2003 invasion of Iraq, you wrote that it is “inescapable that an objective observer would reach the conclusion that this Iraq War is a war of aggression, and as such, that it amounts to a Crime against Peace of the sort for which surviving German leaders were indicted, prosecuted and punished at the Nuremberg trials.”
On behalf of many like-minded Iranians who see this agreement as not ideal but a positive step towards peace, I urgently appeal to you and your friends in the anti-war movement in America to raise your voice in support of this agreement. The voices of millions of Americans against the Vietnam war had a positive effect, as did the thousands of letters, both public and private, protesting the detention of many Iranians, including me, after the 2009 elections. Peace-loving people throughout Iran and the Middle East will welcome and forever appreciate a similar effort at this critical time to prevent a failure of this agreement and counter the drumbeat trying lead Americans to another disastrous war.
Respectfully,
Ebrahim Yazdi, PhD
General Secretary, Freedom Movement of Iran
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, Islamic Republic of Iran
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
August 5, 2015
Dr. Richard A. Falk’s response:
Dear Dr. Yazdi
I am most grateful for your letter and appreciate the positive sentiments expressed. I can assure you that those who were involved in past movements for peace and justice, including the struggle against the Vietnam War, are very much in support of the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. We regard this agreement as a diplomatic breakthrough for both sides, and believe that this step toward calmer relations between Iran and the United States could also contribute to peaceful conflict resolution with respect to other difficult issues in the Middle East.
More concretely, I am engaged in co-authoring an article that strongly affirms the agreement, warns of the dire consequences of Congressional rejection, and relates approval to the capacity of the U.S. Government to pursue its own national interests without the interference of AIPAC and the Israeli government.
I have also encouraged others to draft a statement that could be signed by leading intellectuals in Iran or of Iranian background that develops the case for approval.
I am glad to be in contact with you once again, and convey my assurances of making every effort to reach this shared goal of approval for the agreement and the improvement of relations between our two countries.
With deep respect, and warm best wishes, I remain,
Richard Falk
Milbank Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University
Research Fellow, Orfalea Center of Global Studies, UCSB
August 13, 2015