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Vahshi Bafqi
Royal diary
Qebleye Alam
From Nasseredin Shah's European travel diary
Reading the diaries of Nasseredin Shah (1848 - 1896) is pure entertainment.
The man, who is very comfortable with his title as Qebleye Alam
(divine center of the world, more or less), writes about the most vain
and bizarre events that frequently invite chuckles.
But the following pages (in Persian) reprinted in Par
magazine (Dey 1377 / January 1999) also say a lot not just about Nasseredin
Shah but our rulers in general. How in the world do they reach the top
and stay on top? And what does that say about us in the bottom? ... GO
TO FEATURE
Outlook
"US-Iran Relations: has the time come?"
Speech Delivered by the Honorable Cyrus R. Vance Former US
Secretary of State For "Distinguished Speaker Series" of American-Iranian
Council, Inc.
The Asia Society, New York City, January 13, 1999 -- Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am pleased to join you for Eftar this evening. Thank you Nick [Platt,
President of Asia Society] and Hooshang for a gracious introduction and
for organizing this event. A group of distinguished colleagues will join
me for the panel discussion that follows my comments.
Almost twenty years ago, as US Secretary of State, I participated in
the decision to end diplomatic relations between the United States and
Iran, a painful and difficult step taken in response to the attack on our
embassy in Tehran and the abduction of our diplomats during a period of
revolutionary turmoil. Months later, I took a second decision to resign
in protest to the failed military action, in order to bring about a change
in policy toward the hostage crisis. In the years that followed, I have
watched from the sidelines with frustration and sadness as relations between
our two countries plunged into increasing hostility, mistrust, name-calling,
and mutual recrimination ... FULL
TEXT
Anyway
Mory [Morteza] Ejabat in $20 billion deal
By Jessica Hall
NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Top executives from Lucent Technologies
Inc. and Ascend Communications Inc. began talking last year, but the companies only
became merger bound after prodding from their customers and they discovered
a shared vision of the future.
Lucent, the world's largest maker of telecommunications equipment, on
Wednesday confirmed it would buy data networking company Ascend for about
$20 billion in stock.
While Wall Street and the media speculated for more than a year that
the two would merge, Lucent Chairman Rich McGinn said they took their first
steps toward a deal in June, when he initially met Ascend Chief Executive
Mory [Morteza] Ejabat ... FULL
TEXT
Also
see Iranian Businessman of the Year (1997)
History
Revolution: 1979-1999
More Letters
* Iraqi pilot showed mercy toward Shirazis
Mehdi Ghajarnia writes: Reading the introduction to the article titled
"Kuzestan
in San Diego", I was reminded of an Iraqi whom I met in Pittsburgh
through a good friend, who also happens to be Iraqi. His name was Adnan
and he had sought asylum in the U.S. after being captured by the American
forces during the Persian Gulf War. He had escaped from Saddam's army but
not before being shot in the back as he fled. Fortunately, due to his great
physical stamina he had made it alive to make it to the American (Saudi)
border to surrender. However, it was not his ordeal that left an impression
on me, but rather his uncle's, about which he told me as soon as I told
him that I was originally from Shiraz.
During the Iran-Iraq War, Adnan's uncle had been a pilot for the Iraqi
Army. His last mission had been to bomb a bridge in Shiraz, but when his
plane had neared the target, he noticed a large number of people on the
bridge. So he started firing into the air with the hopes of warning the
people and dispersing them from the bridge. However, the people remained
in place and after circling for a few minutes, Adnan's uncle decided to
return to Iraq without dropping his bombs. Unfortunately, upon landing
in Iraq, Saddam had Adnan's uncle executed for disobeying orders and not
carrying out his mission.
* Lecture: Tradition vs Modern in recent
developments
Lecture: "Tradition vs Modern in recent developments in Iran"
Speaker: Dr. Ahmed Ashraf
Sunday, January 17, 1999
5:30PM to 9:00PM
Mason Governmental Center 6507 Columbia Pike Annandale, Virginia
For Information please call (703)968-4884
Book of the Week
The Arrest of Hoveyda
Stories of the Iranian Revolution
By Saideh Pakravan
"Besides evoking Iran's unique atmosphere [The Arrest of Hoveyda]... proves that history
can most tellingly be told when the key syllables of the word are taken
as the last two: story... This book is essential for all who want to understand
Iran." -- Peter Avery
"... a remarkable fiction. The author comes to political maturity
in the midst of the absurd and tragic events leading up to the overthrow
of the Pahlavi monarchy, the murder of her father, and the consolidation
of the power of Ayatollah Khomeini." -- Marvin Zonis
Recent
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Iran to jail, flog militants for beating
officials
TEHRAN, Jan 14 (Reuters) - An Iranian court
has condemned three militants to lashings and jail terms of up to 18 months
for assaulting members of moderate President Mohammad Khatami's cabinet,
a newspaper reported on Thursday. The daily Iran said the court sentenced
Amir Farshad Ebrahimi to an 18-month term and 40 lashes in connection with
the attack by a group of hardliners on liberal Culture and Islamic Guidance
Minister Ataollah Mohajerani and then Vice- President Abdollah Nouri at
a public event in September. Kiyanoush Mozaffari and Babak Shahrestani were
each given a six-month jail sentence and 20 lashes for the attack in which
Mohajerani was reported to have been slightly injured, said the newspaper,
which is published by Iran's official news agency IRNA ... FULL TEXT
Jannati strongly denies he tried to undermine
khatami
Tehran, Jan 14, IRNA - Ayatollah ahmad jannati, secretary of the
council of guardians, thursday denied foreign media reports that he had
travelled to qom to obtain the consent of senior religious leaders of the
holy city, to declare president seyed mohammad khatami incompetent ... FULL
TEXT
Russia to triple number of nuke workers
in Iran
MOSCOW, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Fresh U.S. accusations
that Moscow is helping Tehran build nuclear weapons and missiles have flared
at a time when Russia plans to more than triple its staff of nuclear workers
in Iran, an official said on Thursday. A spokesman for the Atomic Energy
Ministry told Reuters on Thursday Russia will increase its staff at the
site of the Bushehr civilian nuclear reactor in Iran over the next few months
to 1,000 people from about 300 now ... FULL TEXT
British diplomat in Iran for talks on ties,
Iraq
TEHRAN, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A senior British
Foreign Office official held talks with Iranian officials on relations between
Tehran and London and on the Iraqi crisis, Iran's official news agency IRNA
reported on Thursday. Bahram Qassemi, director-general for Western European
affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, told Derek Plumbly: ``Iran is seriously
determined to remove obstacles and to boost bilateral relations based on
the talks and agreements between the two countries' foreign ministers in
New York,'' IRNA said ... FULL TEXT
MAPNA set for fierce Iran energy race
DUBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - MAPNA, a little-known
Iranian firm specialising in thermal power plants, looks poised to be a
tough competitor in the fierce international race for Iran's lucrative oil
and gas ventures. MAPNA -- the Iran Power Plant Projects Management Co.
-- made its debut in Iranian oil by clinching a $347 million deal to build
a Caspian Sea pipeline, beating Italian, British, German, Russian, South
Korean and Saudi competitors. Armed with connections in Iran's oil industry
and business and government circles, the company set up in 1993 has ambitions
to penetrate Iran's energy scene ... FULL TEXT
Iran interested in Berti Vogts as national
football coach
Jan 14, 1999, Deutsche Presse-Agentur Teheran (dpa) - Iran is interested
in hiring former German helmsman Berti Vogts as national team coach, the
Teheran daily Sobh'e Emruz reported Thursday. ``Vogts is the best option
for the national team,'' the daily reported in reference to IFF negotiations
with several foreign coaches ... FULL TEXT
$ Rate
Updated Jan 14
The
dollar now offered at up to 714-718 tomans
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
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Quote Unquote
Destiny
In short, the time has come for us as American and Iranian citizens to
apply our mutual energy, intellect, and goodwill toward strengthening relations
between our two countries, as their destinies are intertwined.
Cyrus Vance
Speech at Asia
Society
13 January 1999
Photo of the Day
Cyrus Vance, Asia Society
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Music
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The Queen of "Koocheh Bazaari" music in the 1950s
and 1960s.
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