Interviews

Kourosh Ziabari: A renowned American political scientist and author says that there’s ample evidence showing the 2004 presidential election in the United States was fraudulent and stolen by George W. Bush. According to Prof. Robert J. Fitrakis, the Republican Party used all the instruments at its disposal to deceive the American people into believing that George Bush was the real victor, while he was declared the winner of the election thanks to the extensive and widespread cheating and vote-rigging in different US states such as Ohio where numerous irregularities were reported. “In certain black voting precincts, up to 51% of the population had their names removed. When these people showed up at the polls on Election Day their...

  Kourosh Ziabari - Tehran Times: As Iran and the six world powers approach the sensitive phases of their negotiations for striking a final deal on Tehran’s nuclear program, political scientists and nuclear experts present new proposals on how a future comprehensive agreement between the Islamic Republic and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany may look like. There are different viewpoints regarding the possible solutions that can put an end to the decade-long conflict over Iran’s nuclear program. Solutions have been put forth which ensure that Iran will have the sufficient resources for developing a civilian, commercial nuclear program while demonstrating to the international community that...

  Kourosh Ziabari - Iran Review: As Iran and the group of six world powers convene in Vienna for a new round of talks over the Tehran’s nuclear program, it appears more important to study the different aspects of the decade-long controversy that has marred and tarnished Iran’s relations with the international community, especially the United States and the European Union. Signs are emerging that Iran’s blemished relations with the West are being reconstructed, especially after Iran signed a breakthrough deal with the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) on November 24, 2013 known as the Joint Plan of Action. Following the election of Hassan Rouhani as the President of Iran in...

Kourosh Ziabari: A prominent American peace activist says that although the Israeli lobby has enormous influence over the major political decision-making centers in the United States, it is starting to lose its iron-clad grip on the Congress. According to Medea Benjamin, more American people are waking up to the atrocities committed by Israel and its inhumane siege of the Gaza Strip, and that is why the Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions movement has gained momentum as a worldwide effort to protest at the racist policies and practices of the Israeli regime. “I think that the tide is turning. Israel is turning to more and more desperate measures as more people around the world call for justice for Palestinians. The movement for boycott,...

Kourosh Ziabari: Canadian scholar Prof. Michael Keefer believes that the US-engineered project of War on Terror is a “criminal fraud” that has virtually extinguished the American democracy and the civil liberties of the American people. “The so-called War on Terror is a criminal fraud, designed to frighten Americans and the citizens of its allies into supporting systematic violations of international law. It was from the outset Islamophobic both in intention and in the wars of aggression it has been used to justify,” said Prof. Michael Keefer in an exclusive interview. On the US special relationship with Israel and Washington’s unconditional support for the Tel Aviv regime, Prof. Keefer says, “The US policy of seeking to...

Kourosh Ziabari: The former Italian Minister of Heritage, Cultural Activity and Tourism Massimo Bray believes that Iranian culture and civilization is unique and unparalleled in the world. When Massimo Bray visited Iran in January this year, he was a member of the Italian cabinet and the second Italian minister after the Foreign Minister Emma Bonino who would travel to Iran in the last 10 years. However, following the resignation of Enrico Letta as the Prime Minister and the reshuffling of the cabinet, he was automatically removed from his post and replaced by Dario Franceschini in the Matteo Renzi cabinet. Massimo Bray came to Iran to broaden and expand the cultural ties between Italy and Iran, the two countries that have...

Kourosh Ziabari - Tehran Times: The President of the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly said in an exclusive interview with Tehran Times that any nuclear agreement between Iran and the six world powers that can address the concerns of the international community should be welcomed by everyone. According to John W. Ashe, the economic sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and its allies are destructive and cannot be considered helpful as long as they complicate the livelihoods of the innocent people. On the humanitarian situation of Syria, Mr. Ashe believes that the UN is facing a problem which is the lack of access to humanitarian relief. He however hopes that those who have caused such problems and...

Kourosh Ziabari - Tehran Times: The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt was one of the several high-ranking European officials, who traveled to Iran following the election of Hassan Rouhani as the Iranian President in June 2013. President Rouhani, considered as moderate politician, has promised to take up a conciliatory approach toward the international community with a strong determination to bring to an end the decade-long controversy surrounding Iran’s nuclear program. President Rouhani’s platform of “prudence and hope” and his foreign policy agenda based on détente and rapprochement with the West was embraced by the United States and the European Union, and so far, seven foreign ministers of the European Union member...

Kourosh Ziabari: A prominent Canadian Iranologist says that Iranian people have historically attached high importance to love and beauty, which have existed at the center of their spirituality and subtle culture. Responding to a question on why some American people do not know too much about Iran and the Iranian culture and civilization, Prof. Richars Foltz said, “According to studies I’ve seen, most Americans cannot even locate America on a world map. The United States is a very insular society; it is a large and relatively uniform country culturally speaking, which means that it is easy for Americans to believe that what they know is the general standard.” “Unfortunately, the wide admiration for American popular culture...

Kourosh Ziabari: Prominent American lawyer and legal expert Marjorie Cohn says that the United States is moving in the direction of becoming a police state that adheres to no legal principle and eavesdrops on its own citizens furtively. According to Cohn, the US government is suppressing such whistleblowers as Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden to prevent the American citizens from being aware of what is not usually told them by the mass media. “The United States is moving in the direction of becoming a police state with indefinite detention of people without charging them with a crime; conducting massive surveillance without probable cause or individualized suspicion; and targeted killing with drones off the battlefield based on vague...

Kourosh Ziabari: Paul Buchheit, a progressive American writer and activist, says that economic inequality is growing in the United States on a daily basis while the U.S. government continues to spend enormous amounts of money on military expeditions across the world. “The US ranks high in macroeconomic indicators, technology, higher education, and numerous other areas that highlight its global economic dominance. But within our nation the situation is quite different. Our wealth gap is worse than that of the third world. Out of all developed and undeveloped countries with at least a quarter-million adults, the US has the 4th-highest degree of wealth inequality in the world, trailing only Russia, Ukraine, and Lebanon,” Buchheit...

Kourosh Ziabari: Iranians across the world have just celebrated the arrival of the Persian New Year, the beginning of spring and the ancient Nowruz festival. Many of the Central and West Asia and Middle East nations as well as people from different countries and cultures have joined the Iranians in observing the Nowruz, an ancient festival that marks the commencement of the solar year. The German citizens had the opportunity this year to attend a Nowruz festival organized by the Ethnologisches Museum of Berlin with the cooperation of the embassies of 11 countries celebrating Nowruz, including Iran. Dr. Ingrid Schidlbeck, the curator and organizer of the Nowruz ceremonies in Berlin says that this ancient festival is respected because of...