Vol. 71/No. 8      February 26, 2007

Zarif spoke via a live videoconference connection because U.S. State Department restrictions prevent him from traveling beyond 25 miles from the UN offices in New York.

Zarif greeted everyone “no matter which way you are facing.” About 50 students wearing signs on their back reading, “We turn our back on terror,” had stood up and turned their backs to the screen; a couple minutes later they sat down.

Boston University provost David Campbell, and Bilal Bilici, president of the International Student Consortium, welcomed people to the event. The program began with remarks by the Iranian ambassador and Charles Dunbar, a Boston University professor of international relations who was U.S. ambassador to Qatar and then Yemen in the 1980s.

Zarif called for “dialogue” between Washington and Tehran, adding, “You need to be looking for a solution versus. provoking a confrontation.” He said U.S. “accusations against Iran were being made to create divisions in our population.”

Dunbar encouraged Tehran to cease its nuclear program until an agreement could be reached. “The burden of proof lies on the Iranian government to prove it is pursuing its nuclear program for peaceful purposes,” he said, echoing Washington’s claim that Tehran is secretly developing nuclear arms, the main U.S. government rationalization for its drive to squeeze Iran.

Most of the program was devoted to questions from the audience. More than 15 people took part, directing their comments at Iran’s ambassador.

“Which cartoon did you think was best?” asked a student, referring to a contest held in Iran last year, which was backed by the country’s president, of cartoons that mocked the Holocaust. Another student asked, “How many Jews do you think died in the Holocaust?”

“The Holocaust was an atrocity,” Zarif responded. “It was genocide. But we should not let one genocide be used to justify another violation of human rights taking place for 60 years in Palestine.”

The only sharp exchange came when Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, the chairperson, would not let Zarif respond to comments made by Professor Dunbar. Pressure by many in the audience forced Elmore to reverse himself.

It began when a student asked, “What was the difference between Pakistan having a nuclear bomb and Iran?”

“Iran does not want a nuclear bomb,” Zarif said. Pointing to the governments of India and Pakistan that have developed nuclear weapons without opposition by the imperialist powers, he added, “A nuclear bomb has not brought them security… . If you wanted security you would have to have first-strike capabilities or at least second strike capabilities.”

Zarif said Iran is trying to develop a nuclear industry for peaceful purposes because it “is the most serious source of renewable energy.”

“The international community does not believe Iran,” Dunbar responded, reiterating his advice to Tehran to suspend its nuclear program and enter into discussions that would “hopefully” lead to Iran being allowed to develop a peaceful nuclear program.

Zarif took issue with Dunbar’s use of “international community” to refer to Washington and its allies in the European Union, as well as the UN Security Council. Last year, Zarif said, representatives of 118 member states of the nonaligned movement met in Havana and passed a resolution saying that nobody has the right to interfere with Iran’s nuclear program. “Don’t you think that is the international community?” Zarif asked.

Iran’s ambassador also pointed out that Tehran did suspend its nuclear program for two years. During that time, he was the lead negotiator for Iran’s nuclear program, he said, when Washington did nothing but “procrastinate and reject any reasonable solution.”
 
 
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