To the President of the United States of America
Mr. Barack Obama
Mr. President,
As part of the Iranian opposition, we address you in the hope that decisions of your administration in relation to our country will be made taking the voice of the Iranian community into account.
We belong to those freedom-loving Iranians who fight for the implementation of human rights and democracy in our country, for friendly and tension-free relationships with all nations. While in favour of all countries’ right to utilise nuclear science and to use it peacefully within the framework of international regulations, we disapprove of the policies of the current Iranian regime with regard to the nuclear programme, we are in favour of a peaceful solution of the Middle East conflict and we oppose some other positions where the current Iranian leadership disagrees with the majority of the international community. Among other freedom-loving citizens of Iran, we struggle for human rights and democracy in our country.
We argue that criticising the policies of any state, including the United States of America, should not preclude peaceful relations with that country. We oppose the construction of hatred against other nations, including the United States and Israel. We are advocates of recognising the right of Israel and of an independent Palestinian state to live within secure borders, and we are advocates of a peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict, involving all countries in the region and based on mutual respect and adherence to the national interests of every country.
We mention these positions of our organisation with the aim of attracting your attention to the voice of another Iran, a nation which desires to live in peace, freedom and prosperity, a people who, despite more than a century of efforts, has still not achieved these demands.
And still, let us express some of our concerns about your administration’s policies on Iran.
In a great moment of history, the American people elected a President who promised change and the turning away from the principle that anybody who disagreed with American policies was an enemy of the United States. Your Presidency began with the splendid gesture of reaching out to Iranian leaders, a move not understood and appreciated by the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He argued that within your velvet glove, an iron fist was hidden.
Unfortunately, with the historical background of a chain of two-way actions and reactions, anxiety is again arising that a jargon of threat will replace the hopeful signs of the first years of your Presidency. Repeated statements by your administration’s officials that “all options are on the table”, thereby implicitly or even clearly saying that these would also include the military option, have not been helpful in moving away from a war of words. History tells us that nearly all wars begin with a war of words. An escalation of language can produce a situation sliding out of control, a situation in which responsible politicians, even if they are determined to do so and even if they are powerful in times of peace, cannot prevent a catastrophe.
Mr. President,
As Iranians familiar with our country, the world region in which Iran lies and our history, we strongly believe that a military conflict between the United States and Iran would have a devastating impact on international stability. A military action against Iran will fail to reach the objectives some proponents of the military solution claim to be achievable through the use of force. Even if some military and nuclear facilities in Iran can be destroyed in raids, there is absolutely no guarantee that such raids would terminate the nuclear programme of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
For what would most probably be only a temporary delay in this programme, the United States would risk decades of acute instability and military tension in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, decades in which America may be forced to continue a military engagement with high costs.
The use of force against Iran would certainly harm the perspectives of Iran’s transition to democracy. In the long term, only a democratic government responsible to the Iranian people can guarantee that our country becomes a factor of peace and stability in the Middle East. There is no doubt that the position of Iranian civil society will be undermined by talk of war.
Your administration condemned the assassinations of Iranian citizens who are described by the Iranian authorities as contributors to the Iranian nuclear programme, and clearly denied American involvement in such crimes. We appreciate this principled and humanitarian position. But you are certainly aware that repeating the statement about “all options on the table” have incited doubts, even among some U.S. citizens, about the seriousness of your administration in rejecting the use of force. This is also the case for some Iranian citizens. Our conclusion is that emphasising “all options on the table” cannot be the formulation for a responsible and humanitarian policy.
Mr. President,
We believe that your recent statement in the U.S. Congress in which you underlined that peaceful solutions to Iranian-American issues still exist, is realistic and responsible, and indicates a policy which will not give in to the difficulties in the way of a settlement. We are sure that such an attitude will always find ways to avoid a war of words and open or covert use of force.
Without compromising in the struggle against the Iranian regime and without recommending a policy of appeasement towards it, we will continue to criticise the nuclear programme of the Islamic Republic. Along with others, we struggle for responsible policies towards the international community and have no doubts that the Iranian people’s struggle for peace and cooperation with the international community will be strengthened by its resonance in the international community, rather than by martial language.
It is the desire of the Iranian people that the nuclear conflict will find a peaceful settlement, and that in an atmosphere far from the danger of war, the call of Iranians for respect of their rights, for democracy and good governance, will be heard by the world. Iranians do not expect anything else from the international community than moral and political support for their fight for freedom. Use of military action and war is not the kind of support the majority of the Iranian people will embrace.
Yours respectfully,
Organisation of Iranian People’s Fadaian (Majority)
Political and Executive Committee
March 3, 2012
