iran

Increasing U.S.-Iran cultural exchanges could lay the groundwork for better relations between the two countries, believes a prominent think tank here, despite the prevalence of stereotypical memes of the United States as the “Great Satan” and Iran as part of the “Axis of Evil”.

That venture was part of the two-year Global Dialogue on the Future of Iran that Ottawa is sponsoring through the Munk School in order to increase digital communications with and among dissident Iranians.

Israel has threatened military action to ensure the Shiite Muslim-led state doesn’t obtain nuclear weapons should diplomacy fail, and the U.S. has also signaled it’s ready to use force. Rohani has criticized Jalili for his intransigence in negotiations over the nuclear work. Iran maintains the work is needed for civilian purposes, such as generating electricity and for medicine.

Majorities in most of 39 countries surveyed have an unfavorable opinion of Iran, and most say Tehran does not respect the personal freedoms of its people. Meanwhile, any nuclear ambitions harbored by the Iranian government continue to draw strong opposition from Western countries, as well as neighboring states in the Middle East.

Qalibaf, who is the mayor of Tehran, also cited national solidarity, active regional diplomacy, economic diplomacy, public diplomacy, and prudent resistance as the most important tools for activating the country’s diplomacy on the global stage.

Pages