Secretary Clinton has announced a few days ago that she intends on launching a new virtual embassy in Tehran, Iran. First let me start by saying that we have not had an embassy in this country since 1979. In case you are unfamiliar with what took place during this time I will attempt to give you a short synopsis.
Ayatollah Khomeini led a revolution against Iran’s Monarchy and Shah Mohammad Pahlavi. The Shah left Iran for exile and Khomeini became the new leader under a theocratic constitution. In 1979 a group of Islamic students and militants took over the American embassy in Iran in attempts to support the Revolution. During this time, 52 hostages were held for 444 days. The United States was seen as a supporter of Shah Pahlavi, especially after admitting him to an American hospital for cancer treatment. The hostages were finally released the day President Reagan took office.
Clearly our relationship with Iran in the past has been represented by turmoil. The Obama Administration’s attempt to launch a virtual embassy aims at increasing the number of student visas for young Iranians. Currently, if an Iranian student wishes to study abroad in America, they must travel to another country that has an American Embassy, to apply for a visa. The stipulations for an Iranian student visa does not allow for them to leave the country once they have entered. If they choose to do so, the visa application process must start over. According to an article in the New York Times, students returning to Iran after studying in the U.S expect to be under suspicion. Before 1979 tens of thousands of Iranians studied in the United States. In 1999, fewer than 1,700 Iranian students were represented at U.S institutions.
Clinton spoke on two Persian – Language television shows for the first time as an American Diplomat. Clinton explained “ my goal in speaking to you today is to clearly communicate to the people of Iran, particularly the very large population of young people, that the U.S has no argument with you. “ The virtual embassy is supposed to launch at the end of they year and it has been made clear that the U.S does not have diplomatic relations with Iran.
This new type of embassy does not come without obstacles. Iran strictly censors and restricts Internet access making, this type of embassy difficult. In May of 2011 Fox News had a repot on Iran moving forward with it’s Internet censorship efforts. Reports indicate that Iran is planning on creating their own national Internet that could replace the World Wide Web in this country. Is is part of a broader effort to confront the threat of westernization and ideas, especially from the United States.
I applaud the efforts our country is making at increasing the number of Iranian students here in the U.S. Where better place to start than with our young people? Most students of college age were not alive during the 1979 revolution. There is the possibility of a fresh start with this new generation of students. As students at U.S institutions, most of us are not exposed to international students from this country. Lack of representation makes it difficult to make connections and reconcile the past by forming positive relationships. Although launching this embassy in a country that highly regards Internet censorship is difficult, it is a step in the right direction. We are sending a message to students that they are welcomed here.
This is a great effort and I hope it is one that finds success. This is definitely a population that is underrepresented in our higher education institutions, and appropriate resources should be directed toward an effort in addressing this problem.
ReplyDeleteI really see more to this than just an attempt to increase the number of Iranian students in our colleges and universities. From my viewpoint, the students that choose to educate themselves will be more likely to have influence once they return home. Whether this influence is supported by the government or not is a serious issues, but the influence will be created none the less. The U.S. relationship with Iran is a troubled one to say the least. Opening our universities to students who may be in influential positions in Iran in the future, is a step in the right direction toward improving the general relationships between our countries.