Mousavi: Opposition “Path Is the Just One”

Mir Hussein Mousavi has reaffirmed his opposition to the Iranian government, according to an interview (Persian) with Khadijeh Mousavi, the sister of the detained opposition leader. In a recent visit with family members at his home where he remains under house arrest, he reportedly told his sister “our path is the just one.”

Meanwhile, Nader Hashemi writes “a new U.S. policy towards Iran is desperately needed, and the democratic revolutions in other parts of the Middle East suggest a way forward. ” Hashemi suggests the US adopt a new Iran policy “anchored on the cornerstone of democracy.” Additionally, the Arab Spring has cast a “new global spotlight … on the region that exposes dictatorships while simultaneously giving voice to opposition movements. Iran’s ruling clerics … in the awkward position of paying lip service to democratic revolts in the Arab world while cracking down on identical protests at home.” The author adds that “diplomacy should be given a chance not because Tehran will necessarily reciprocate but because it most likely will not. Any U.S. outreach to Iran … immediately causes an internal crisis within the Iranian regime,” which may hasten a democratic transition.

Additionally, Mehdi Khalaji argues that Voice of America’s Persian language channel “is a waste of U.S. tax dollars” that should be transformed to a public medium that “follows the most successful examples in American public broadcasting like National Public Radio.” “Without government bureaucratic impediments,” Khalaji says, “an independent public TV or radio station would be in a much stronger position to hire the most qualified journalists, producers and editors,” making the effort more effective.