WASHINGTON - August 22 -

ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN
Author of the article "Iran: The Next Target?" and several books including Inventing the Axis of Evil and Iran Between Two Revolutions, Abrahamian said today: "Some seem to want to move to air strikes in the near future as if Iran were on the verge of having a nuclear bomb when the CIA and other experts predict that Iran needs at least five to six years to develop a bomb."
More Information


TRITA PARSI
A specialist on Iran, Parsi is head of the largest Iranian-American organization in the U.S., the National Iranian American Council. He said today: "The U.S. should pursue a resolution of all outstanding issues with Iran as soon as possible. Iran's response to the P5+1 proposal ... should not be regarded as the end of the diplomatic track. Doing so would put the U.S. on a slippery slope towards military action.

"In 2003, the Iranian government sent Washington an offer to without preconditions negotiate all the areas of friction between them, including the nuclear issue, Hezbollah and Iran's position on Israel. The Bush administration rejected that offer.

"Had it not done so, much indicates that nuclear concessions would have been won, no war in Lebanon would have taken place, more than 1,000 Lebanese and 150 Israelis would not have gotten killed, and the risk for war between the U.S. and Iran would not be existing today.

"The lesson is that every delay to negotiate the full range of problems Washington has with Tehran has only served to exacerbate the situation, increase the suffering and weaken America's leverage over Iran.

"Iraq and Lebanon have shown that there is no military solution to the problems in the Middle East. As long as the aim is to avoid war, diplomacy must be given a fair chance -- without preconditions from either side."

Parsi is the author of Treacherous Triangle -- The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States, a book scheduled for publication next year.
More Information
More Information

###