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Participants:
Dr. Trita Parsi, President, National Iranian American Council
Wayne Gilchrest (MD-01), Founder and Co-Chair, Dialogue Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives
James P. Moran (VA-08), Member, Appropriations Committee, U.S. House of Representatives
Joseph Montville, Chairman of Board, Center for the Study of World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict, George Mason University; Diplomat in Residence at American University.
Jake Colvin, Director, USA Engage; National Foreign Trade Council
Moderator:
Prof. Richard Rubenstein, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
Most discussions of the crisis in U.S.-Iran relations have focused narrowly on certain issues currently in contention between the two nations: Iran’s nuclear development program, alleged aid by Teheran to insurgent forces in Iraq, alleged U.S. efforts to undermine the Iranian regime, and the like. The relationship, which has long been strained, has deteriorated to the point that a disastrous military confrontation, perhaps provoked by some incident in the Persian Gulf, now seems all too possible.
Under these circumstances it is vitally important to look beyond current disputes – the symptoms of a deeper conflict – and to ask what can be done to eliminate or mitigate the underlying causes of U.S.-Iran hostility. What factors have embittered this relationship, both in earlier decades and at present? What creative and practical alternatives are there to a military confrontation?
On April 23, the participants listed above will come together under the auspices of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution to discuss a number of key questions:
- What are the chief sources of hostility between the U.S. and Iran? Why has this relationship been so problematic for so many years?
- What has happened recently to bring U.S.-Iran relations to the point of possible military confrontation? What would the effects of a military assault or war be on all parties concerned?
- What creative, practical measures are possible and advisable to put U.S.-Iran relations on a more peaceful course? How can they be implemented in time to avert a possible disaster?
This roundtable discussion will place the highest priority on providing answers to this last question: what can be done to reconstruct the dangerously deteriorated U.S.-Iran relationship.
The roundtable is not a conference or hearing at which participants are asked to read prepared statements. It is a multi-party dialogue of a type frequently organized by conflict-resolving institutions in order to foster creative analysis of some apparently intractable and worsening conflict.
A small audience, including press representatives, has been invited to observe the dialogue. Statements made by the participants during the dialogue period are not for attribution without their express consent. At the end of the dialogue period, observers and press representatives will be invited to join the discussion, ask questions, and make further suggestions.
For further information, please contact Prof. Richard Rubenstein at 703-993-1307 or Michael Shank, Government Relations Officer, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, at 703-993-3655.
Seating at the National Press Club is limited. To RSVP, email [email protected].
Contact: Michael Shank, ICAR Government Relations Officer, 703-993-3655