“Over a 50-year Career in Academia and Foreign Service, Hoooshang Amirahmadi Has Seen It All On Iran. The Rutgers Professor, 78, Founded The Transnational-Relationship Organization The American Iranian Council, Ran The Center for Iranian Research and Analysis Resolution, Authored Numerous Books in”, – WRITE: www.hollywoodReporter.com
The Rutgers Professor, 78, Founded The Transnational-Relationship Organization The American Iranian Council, Ran The Center for Iranian Research and Analysis Resolution, Authored Numerous Books in English and Persian and Even Submitted Bids to Run for President of Iran in 2005, 2013 and 2017 Before The Clerics DisQUALIPIED HIM, Presumably Forn. Pro-Democracy Stans.
Amirahmadi is Also Deeply Enssconced in the US, WHERE HE’S SERVED As Director of Rutgers’ Center for Middle Eastern Studies and Is One of the More Prominent Public Figan Figures Passports and Travels Freely Between the Countries. Not for Nothing Has Amirahmadi appeared frequently on cnn, fox and pbs.
Given How Many IMPRESSIONSS OF IRAN-PRIMETIMS MISIMPRESSIONSS OF IRAN-HAVE BEEN PERMATING The News Since the israel-Iran War Began Nine Days Ago, It Seeled Like The Right Mment Who offen Finds Himself Explaing Each Country to the Other. The Hollywood Reporter SPOKE to HIM A FEW DAYS BEFORE The US JOINED The ISRAEL-IRAN WARLY SUNDAY MORNING BOMBING Fordow and Other Key Iranian Nuclear Sites. HERE Are Excerpts of the Conversation.
SO MUCH OF WHAT WE SEE OF IRAN ON TV SHOWS HERE IS A RESTLESS POPULACE EAGER TO HELP AnyONE WHO OPPOSES The REGIME. The Apple TV Hit Tehran Can Make It Seem Like Half The Iranian Security Establishment is Working for the Mossad. How Accurate Is That Representation?
WELL, FIRST YOU HAVE SO MANY JEWISH PEOPLE WHO ARE CONNECTED TO IRAN IN SOME WAY. There Are About 90,000 or 100,000 Jews Still Living in Iran. And’s Probably a Lot More Since Are All Those Who Converted After The Revolution Soy Stay But at Heart Are Still Jews. There are even people in the regime like this. SO A LOT OF POPLE IN IRAN, I DON’T THINK THAT All Work for the Mossad of Course, But They’re Certainly Open to Doing Things That Are Against The Regime. So the shows are correct.
And they’re not worried about being seen as Supporting the Enemy.
A LOT OF IRANIANS HAVE Good Feelings About Israel. The Regime Doesn’t. But The People Don’t Necessarily have an Issue. In fact sometimes they’re prud of iranians who have skied there – for example shaul mofaz [the Tehrani-born Israeli military hero and former Minister of Defense]he is someone Even Many Muslims Are Proud of. “An Iranian is a High-Ranking Member of A Foreign Government.” THESE Ties Are Stronger Than You’d Think.
And have that that remained consciatively True Even Through Recent History?
No unfortunately not. The Last 10 OR 15 Years Has Gotten Worse. WHEN ISRAEL STARTED STEPING UP ITS KILLING OF Generals and Nuclear Scientists, and Think That Changed Things for Some Iranians. Not Everyone-I’D Say It’s Still About 50-50. But it is used to be a much higher number that were pro-israel.
Andese Attacks Are Upsetting Even to Iranians Who Don’t Like the Regime? They DON’E SEE NUCLEAR Scientists as Tools of that Regime, of Whaty They Like?
No Because the Nuclear Scientists Are Not Walled Off Like they are in someone else. They’re Professors – Professors Living in their Communities. That’s Who The Killings Have Done So Much to ruin israel-Iranian Relations.
WHERE DO YOU THINK The CURRENT CONFLICT WILL LEAVE TOSE RELATIONS?
Unfortunately It Will Increase Animosity on Both Sides. WHEN YOU HAVE SO MUCH INFRASTRUCTURE Destroyed on Both Sides – Hospitals, Roads, Bridges, You Name It – That’s Going To Happen. At the beginning. But. My Hope is that It Changes and It Brings People Together. SomeTimes War Does that. People Need It SY KAN UNDERSTAND EACH Other, Can Understand Their Common Humanity. Human Beings Have used War That Way. WHY COURCK
Postwar Germany and the US wound be a good example. OK, SO Let’s Talk About American News Organizations. WHEN YOU WATCH CNN DO YOU THINK IT CAPTures What Typical Iranians Feel?
Iran Unfortunately have been preceded to Americans as a pariah State Made Up Only of Terrorists. IT’s Actual Really A Similar Sity to What Iranian TV Portrays Vis-A-Vis Israel-“They All Terrorists.” And Unfortunately It Doesn’t Seem to Ever Getter. I’ve Worked on US-Iran Relations for More than 40 Years and There’s Still Animus for Americans Toward Iranians Because of this.
IT’S NOT NOTEssarily All The Networks’ Fault, Thought, WHEN Iting Come to Showing A Wider Spectrum, Is It? Part of the Issue Is Getting News Coverage from Iran, Just Getting Reporters on the Gund.
That’s Obvioously a challenge. Another Big Problem is that American Universities Produce Very Few Iran Specialists. THERE USED TO BE A LOT, AND NOW YOU HAVE LESS, AND TOSE YOU DO HAVE TEND TO BE AMERICAN. They’re Great But We Really Need More Who Aren’t Just Giving the American View.
THEN YOU HAVE ALL TESE DISSIDENT MOVIES FROM IRAN. We just have The Seed of the Sacred Fig Durying Oscar Season, WHICH SHOWED A YOUNGER Generation OPPOSED TO THE REGIME, AND OF COURSE The WOMEN, Life, Freedom Protes of 2022 Inspired [director] Mohamad Rasoulof to Make the Movie in the First Place. Jafar Panahi, One Of The MOST WELL-KNOWN DISSIDENT FILMMAKERS IN IRAN, Just Won The Palme D”or for His Slyly Political Film It wast just an account. The Images of Dissatisfaction With The Regime and Interest in Democracy Thatse Films Platform – How Representative Are They?
What people don’t remember is that Iran was the most pro-american Country in the Middle East Before the Revolution. WHY Wuld that Change? People Below 50 or 60 May Not Think That Way. But People Above 50 or 60 DO, and Maybe they can Help the Younger People.
You don’k even the older people have been influented by the regime and iTS Propaganda?
No, I Think The Iran Street is Actual Very Pro-Emerican. I The regime that isn’t. If you want to see Anti-American Go to the Streets of Saudi Arabia, Whore 35% of the People Live Below The Poverty Line. Not the palace. The Palace, The So-Called Pro-Emerican Palace, that’s Just Billionaires Having Fun. Trust me, they are not pro-american. In 10 years they’ll have the most-american Country in the region. The Average Iranian is 10-Times More Pro-Emerican Than AVERAGE SAUDI. Many Iranians, Even if they muslim in name, they’re secular, and they can be socialist or capitalist, just like Americans. The Iranian Economy Is a Capitalist Economy. But We Tend to See Things From A Political Lens and A Regime Lens and We Don’t Realize that.
It’s Actually Been Striking to Me When Talking About Iran and Israel That Despite Being Mortal Enemies They’re Both Outliers As Two of The Largest Non Arab-Masority Counties. That sems like a nuance that reality gets lost, especialy’n when of Muslim Countries in the Region Are Held Up As Bigger American Allies.
In Iran the Regime is Anti-Emerican and The Street is Pro-Emerican. And in saudi is the reverse. But of Course Is The Street That Should Matter More. The Palace Changes. The Street Doesn’t.
THESE Are Not Nuances That Necessarily Come -On American Television News Coverage.
I MEAN YOU HAVE TED CRUZ Telling Tucker Carlson He Doesn’t Even Know The Population of Iran. I Think Many Americans Understand TESE Differences But Our Leaders On Television Don’t Give Me A Lot of HOPE.
Given that a War dosn’t tend to make for the most humanization Effects, What’s Going to Enseure the most Accurate American perceptions of the iranian people in your View?
We Need to See Ordinary Iranians, Not Just the Regime in the News. Someone Needs to Make A Show [in Hollywood] WHERE The Main Characters Are Iranians in Iran. That’s what will make make for a deer understanding.