Iranian People

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he sees "common ground" with the West over his country's disputed nuclear program, and "new behavior" from the United States that could merit a positive response. Ahmadinejad told NBC News he believes U.S. policy "has been to confront the Iranian people" for 50 years. But he said he now sees "new behavior" and is unsure whether it's based on "mutual respect, cooperation and justice." "If the approach changes, we will be facing a new situation and the response by the Iranian people will be a positive one," Ahmadinejad said.

Suicide bombers killed at least 39 people and wounded dozens more Wednesday while targeting a procession of worshipers observing an important Shiite Muslim holiday in southeastern Iran, state media reported. The Jundallah organization, a militant Sunni group that claims to represent Iran's mostly Sunni ethnic Baluch minority, posted on a website that it was responsible for the attack. The bombing was the latest sign that the troubles in South Asia, including Sunni extremism, are increasingly seeping into Iran.

History is full of paradoxes, and in the modern age of media manipulation, one persistent historical paradox has been the fact that often public opinion acquiesces to the rhetoric of an internally oppressive and externally ill-mannered regime and accepts the alleged solidarity between the ruler and the ruled and ultimately chastises the vanquished victims of terror and irrationality as culprits in the crimes of the victors. Iranian people have had their share of historical paradoxes.

No one understands the revolutionary potential of students better than old revolutionaries. That's one reason Iranian security forces fought hard with tear gas, batons and arrests this week to put down university protests across the country. Another is that six months after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed reelection, and despite persistent government efforts to quash the unrest, the protests continue. To these students, the leadership that took power three decades ago in a popular uprising against the repressive government of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi is now the repressive establishment.

A man threw eggs and shouted insults at Iran's foreign minister in a U.N. hallway today before being wrestled to the floor. The official, Ali Akbar Velayati, was not injured and the eggs missed him. The unidentified man, who identified himself as an Iranian, screamed at Velayati: "He is a murderer and torturer! He does not represent the Iranian people! He should not be allowed in the United Nations!"

The Iran-Iraq conflict, which started in September of 1980, is without a doubt the most bloody war since World War II. Sadly, however, unless the Ayatollah Khomeini's brand of revolutionary theocracy becomes the subject of an international diplomatic and economic assault, the war will continue indefinitely. More than half a million people have died and 3 million persons have been left homeless and are refugees; millions have been maimed and injured. In the meantime, Iraq, which ventured into Iran due to Saddam Hussein's regional ambitions, has long stated its desire for a peace settlement in accordance with the Algiers Agreement of 1975, which respects the territorial integrity of both nations.

Re "U.S. puts the squeeze on Iran's oil fields," Jan. 7 Does anyone appreciate the significance of this article? The United States is trying to dissuade international banks from financing oil projects in Iran, hoping to damage that nation's ability to export oil. Oil is the lifeblood of the Iranian economy; it allows Iran to feed its people and care for them. Is it not clear that the U.S. action is itself an act of war against the Iranian people? This technique is strikingly similar to one the United States used against Chile in the early 1970s, when it destabilized the Chilean economy as a prelude to the coup that toppled President Salvador Allende.

A top Iranian official said Friday that the United States paid ransom to Iran in an effort to free American hostages in Lebanon, and suggested that further payments could lead to the release of more captives. "I explicitly declare to the American people and the world that the Americans paid us ransom in the Lebanese affair," Hashemi Rafsanjani, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, said. "We received ransom in return for our intercession."

Re "Watching with the enemy," Opinion, June 13 Joel Stein's article concerning the Mexico-Iran World Cup game reveals not only his xenophobia but also his ignorance of soccer and ethnic communities. Which team to root for posed no dilemma for me. Mexico is our neighbor, and so it's almost a home team. MARGARET PRESTON KHARRAZ Culver City There is no doubt that Stein has a sense of humor, but to see him play the role of an ignoramus just to make ignorant people happy is sad. Is he that ignorant that he does not know Iranian people are also "white" when he refers to himself as such?

If current negotiations falter, international efforts to curtail Iran's nuclear program may escalate to the imposition of "crippling sanctions" or even the use of military force. A crucial question that policymakers must consider is whether such punitive measures would help or hinder the popular uprising against the Iranian regime that emerged after the country's fraudulent June 12 presidential elections. The so-called green movement -- the color has been adopted by the opposition -- poses the most serious challenge to the survivability of the Islamic Republic in its 30-year history.

If current negotiations falter, international efforts to curtail Iran's nuclear program may escalate to the imposition of "crippling sanctions" or even the use of military force. A crucial question that policymakers must consider is whether such punitive measures would help or hinder the popular uprising against the Iranian regime that emerged after the country's fraudulent June 12 presidential elections. The so-called green movement -- the color has been adopted by the opposition -- poses the most serious challenge to the survivability of the Islamic Republic in its 30-year history.

Along Westwood Boulevard south of Wilshire Boulevard -- a.k.a. "Tehrangeles" -- Iranian merchants on Friday had reason beyond the Persian New Year's holiday to shout out cheerful greetings to friends and customers. They also praised President Obama for extending an olive branch to the Iranian people and government, as he did in a speech to mark the start of the 12-day Nowruz holiday. "Somehow you have to break the ice," said Farhad Djavanshir, 58, manager of Flame restaurant.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he sees "common ground" with the West over his country's disputed nuclear program, and "new behavior" from the United States that could merit a positive response. Ahmadinejad told NBC News he believes U.S. policy "has been to confront the Iranian people" for 50 years. But he said he now sees "new behavior" and is unsure whether it's based on "mutual respect, cooperation and justice." "If the approach changes, we will be facing a new situation and the response by the Iranian people will be a positive one," Ahmadinejad said.

Re "Iranian leader accuses Britain of arrogance," April 1 If Britain believes that it can peacefully negotiate the release of its sailors, then it is crazier than Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. To peacefully gain their release, Britain must negotiate with a logical and rational leader, two qualities Ahmadinejad lacks. Britain and the U.S. cannot concede to this lunatic and remove the U.N. sanctions against his nuclear program in exchange for the lives of these British sailors.

Re "U.S. puts the squeeze on Iran's oil fields," Jan. 7 Does anyone appreciate the significance of this article? The United States is trying to dissuade international banks from financing oil projects in Iran, hoping to damage that nation's ability to export oil. Oil is the lifeblood of the Iranian economy; it allows Iran to feed its people and care for them. Is it not clear that the U.S. action is itself an act of war against the Iranian people? This technique is strikingly similar to one the United States used against Chile in the early 1970s, when it destabilized the Chilean economy as a prelude to the coup that toppled President Salvador Allende.

Re "Watching with the enemy," Opinion, June 13 Joel Stein's article concerning the Mexico-Iran World Cup game reveals not only his xenophobia but also his ignorance of soccer and ethnic communities. Which team to root for posed no dilemma for me. Mexico is our neighbor, and so it's almost a home team. MARGARET PRESTON KHARRAZ Culver City There is no doubt that Stein has a sense of humor, but to see him play the role of an ignoramus just to make ignorant people happy is sad. Is he that ignorant that he does not know Iranian people are also "white" when he refers to himself as such?

Re "Iranian leader accuses Britain of arrogance," April 1 If Britain believes that it can peacefully negotiate the release of its sailors, then it is crazier than Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. To peacefully gain their release, Britain must negotiate with a logical and rational leader, two qualities Ahmadinejad lacks. Britain and the U.S. cannot concede to this lunatic and remove the U.N. sanctions against his nuclear program in exchange for the lives of these British sailors.

In recent months, a number of important Western journalists have been allowed to visit Iran, and many of their reports have made front-page news in some of the major Western dailies.

The young police officer charged into the crowd, his knuckles white from gripping the long barrel of a tear gas gun he didn't want to fire. His shouts were lost in the din, so he hollered louder until he could be heard: "Please, please, brothers and sisters, leave here! Leave here now!" But no one left.

On the ominous date of Friday, Aug. 13, a radio station premiered with a staff of one (general manager John Paley), music (a two-hour loop of Persian pop songs) and three commercials (recorded in one take by a Farsi-speaking nutritionist who Paley had just met). Several miles away from the new station, Farzad Fadai, 45, was searching for an afternoon ballgame when his dial scratched over a familiar sound. "Somehow I heard Persian music. I said, 'Wow!'