Foreign Policy 101: What President Obama Could Learn…

For President Obama, who already has shown his desire to talk to Iranian leaders, there is no foreign policy lesson more helpful than that of Roxana Saberi’s case of arrest and release. It shows how the Iranian government functions and could teach the United States how to speak to hard-liners in Tehran. These lessons are:

1- Everything in Iran is impossible, and at the same time, anything is possible. One day you can be accused of espionage for no apparent reason, go to prison and three months later you could walk free, simple as that. On the contrary, you can go to prison under the same conditions and reason (like the case of Silva Harotonian who has been jailed since June 2008, simply, for working for an American NGO) and stay in prison for years. It all depends on many different factors. Uncertainty rules! Read more

IREX VP: “Our Program Was Completely Consistent With Iran’s National Interest”

Huffington Post- “IREX never imagined that anyone could construe our program in Iran to be inconsistent with any interest of the Iranian government,” said Paige Alexander Vice President of the U.S.-based non-profit regarding the arrest and imprisonment of the organization’s employee, Silva Haratonian, last year in Iran.

Silva Harotonian, an Iranian citizen of Armenian descent, held a modest position with the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX), which focuses on international education, academic research, professional training and technical assistance.

Her work and life were interrupted on June 26, 2008 when she was detained by Iranian authorities and charged with participating in an effort to overthrow the Iranian government through a ”velvet revolution.” On January 19, 2009, she was sentenced to three years in jail. Read more

IRAN: Lawyers Seek Reversal in Second “U.S. Spy” Case

SAN FRANCISCO, May 26 (IPS) - In a case that human rights activists say echoes that of recently released journalist Roxana Saberi, the Iranian government has imprisoned a woman employed by a U.S.-based non-profit organisation working to improve child and maternal health in the country, alleging that she acted as a spy for the United States.

Silva Harotonian, an Iranian citizen of Armenian descent, held a modest position with the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX), which focuses on international education, academic research, professional training and technical assistance. Read more