Iranian New Year Is Here

The Iranian New Year - Nourooz - has officially started. It starts with a widely celebrated festive event mostly at homes of Iranian people wherever they are, it called Eid Nourooz.

Millions of Iranian inside and out of the country celebrate the Eid.

I wish all the Iranian living inside and out of the country a happy and prosperous year.

Khatami is coming to Melbourne

It has been a while since my last post. I have been busy preparing for the first semester of the year 2009. However, now that the preparation is done and the units are up and running, I would like to write about an event which - I believe - is a matter of importance to us all. Mohammad Khatami - former Iranian president - is due to come to Australia on 26 March.

He has been invited to the La Trobe University in Melbourne by professor Joseph Camilleri - a senior lecturer on International Relation Studies. He will be talking about the importance of dialogue between the world political rivals for the purpose of finding solutions for their differences.

Attendance is open to the members of public with a very reasonable entrance fee of $5. I will be there.

You can find the relevant details here!

Khatami is back into the presidential election-race again

After months of speculation, Mohammad Khatami, the former Iranian president, is back into the next presidential election-race in Iran, and for a good reason.

He has already been in office for two terms between 1998-2006, later in 2005-6, he has been succeeded by the current infamous Iranian president - Ahmadi Nejad. The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq by the US came right in the middle of his terms in office. At the time of the Iraq's invasion, his government had offered its cooperation to the US and also its readiness to talk with the then Bush's administration over their differences. However, it has been suggested that Mr. Cheney, the US Vice President at the time, had thrown his government's offering letter into the rubbish bin - not a wise move at all. However, the Cheney's unwise move has been matched by Tehran when it produced the current president Ahmadi Nejad to handle the unwise people in the White-House; and ever since the Bush-Cheney's team had met their match.

It took more than 3 years and lots of effort by Tehran to turn the tide against the White-House - and it did it well. Since the acquisition of the presidential office, Ahmadi Nejad and his government - read it Tehran - has constantly been in business of creating more headaches for the US than the both wars in Afghanistan and Iraq together.

Now, however, the election of Mr. Obama as the new tenure of the White-House for the next four years has such significant effect on the Tehran-Washington relation which Tehran can not possibly afford to ignore. This has made Tehran cautious in its responses to the White-House's signals over the past three weeks.

And this latest news out of Iran - the Khatami's candidacy - is a proper response to the Obama's comment days ago in which he had emphasized that "now, it is Tehran's turn". After 30 years of mistrust between the two countries, I am sure both American people and the Iranian young generation would like to see the mistrust fade away.

Mr. President, there is no need for rush

The Obama’s administration has been beaming encouraging signals toward Tehran this week.

However, one would safely expect their studies and planning stages on how to engage Iran take a little bit longer just to see through the Iranian presidential-election first.

It all started in an interview with the Al-Arabia TV Network in which president Obama asked Iran to unclench its fist in order to make it possible to shake hands. He wants Iran to show its interest in a meaningful way. However, the meaningful-way is open to the interpretation, it encompasses a wide range of activities on the Iran's part. For instance, the Iran's nuclear ambition and its stand on the Arab-Israeli predicaments are the prominent ones.

A day prior to the Mr. Obama's interview, Ms. Susan Rice, the new US’ delegate to the United Nation, has been quoted as saying that the US will enter a ‘vigorous diplomacy’ with Iran. Hillary Clinton, the new Secretary of States, was playing the same tune since she has been appointed to her position.

Nonetheless, the Obama’s stand against Iran was clear through out the US election-campaign - he had explicitly expressed his willingness to talk to Tehran directly and without any preconditions. That was a step in the right direction; however, it is important not to send a wrong message to Tehran. Tehran should not be under such perceived illusion that the Tehran-Washington game is over in its favour. Washington and Tehran should both be pragmatic and realistic – I am confident that they are – they both are aware of their own national interests and their security’s concerns.

Nevertheless, the Obama’s administration is just two-weeks old whereas the Ahmadi Nejad’s government has less than 3 months in office and it is facing an election. For Mr. Obama, it would be unwise to approach a government which may well be out of office soon. He and his advisers can surely do more studies and planning to be well prepared just in time to then engage a new and more stable administration in Tehran.

President Barack Obama has made the history of the United States of America

In front of almost two million jubilant Americans president Barack Obama has been inaugurated into the highest office in the United States of America. It was a great moment not only for the American people, their country and its history, but for the rest of the world as well.

The Cheering crowd welcomed the 44th US president to lead them through many problems, or as the president put it ‘crises’, their country is facing.

During his inauguration speech president Obama articulated the crises into the both domestic and international ones. The domestic ones are apparently concerned with the US financial crisis, economic recession, lose of jobs etc. The international ones, however, if not more challenging, are as equally important.

One of the renowned international challenges of president Obama and his neonate administration is dealing with Iran and its nuclear ambition. For the past 8 years, Iran has been one the major obstacles to the implementation of the United States’ foreign policies, particularly in the Middle East. It still is and it remains to be, unless the Obama's famous oratory comes handy at the negotiation table with his Iranian counterpart.

During the US election-campaign, president Obama has been talking about a change-over to meet the US’ political challenges in the world. He was talking about talks, dialogues, understandings and more respect towards his political rivals rather than being a tough guy and the world’s bully as his predecessor, George W Bush, used to act.

Those talks about his new ideas worked beautifully, he made the history, and the US people gave him an opportunity and a mandate to implement his ideas for a new United States.

We have to wait and see.

Mr. President, world is watching impatiently.

Madness at the highest level of the Israeli-Palestinian politics

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip for a while now. After days of heavy bombardments, from air, sea and the artillery, its ground troop along with their tanks and armored vehicles has now moved into the territory.

This is madness. A madness which is laid right at the top of the both sides of the Israeli and the Palestinian political apparatuses. Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, Hamas, have had a truce in place for many months. The truce had expired just 6 days prior to this incomprehensible madness.

Apparently after expiring the truce, Hamas had started firing rockets over to Israeli towns. And in response, Israel has started the imprudent actions in Gaza. The dispropotionate response of Israel is dangerous. It has been tried before, it has not worked, and most likely it will not work this time around too. It only creates a furor of hatred and revenge. No-one will be benefited from the calamity in Gaza, and it has the potential to turn the entire region into a cauldron.

Furthermore, if we add the current situation in Gaza to the strategical importance of the Middle East to the broader world, then we have a serious problem on our hand. That is why the Security Council of the United Nation has immediately called for an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. However, the only irresponsible member, in this occasion of course, of the council with the veto power, the United States, was naive enough to ignore the gravity of the situation. But needless to say, it is the same administration which after 8 years in office has managed to get the United States into its current miserable international status.

One can only hope and should desperately search for more talented people in the new US administration, president-elect Obama certainly proved to be one. we need more.

Sydney celebrates the New Year in its own style

Sydney does it again, it celebrates the start of the new year in its own fashionable style.

Last night, close to 1.5 million people had gathered around one of the most known Sydney's landmark - the world famous Sydney Harbour Bridge - to celebrate the new year 2009. They enjoyed a spectacular display of fire works. According to the City of Sydney Council, the whole ceremony - fire works included - has a total bill of around 5 million AUD. Nevertheless, Mayor Moore believes the cost was well justified. She believes this kind of ceremonies has the potential to bring people together regardless of their beliefs, religions or the political affiliations - and I think she is right.

I wish a happy, prosperous and above all a peaceful new year for all.