Happy Norooz! (My hope for a new, better year of U.S.-Iran relations)

March 20, 2008 was the spring equinox and the Iranian New Year, known as Norooz (or Norouz, Nowruz, No Ruz, etc.). My family and I sat around our traditional and spiritual table at 1:48:46 a.m., at the exact moment of the equinox.

Our table, like that of all Iranians, was set with seven items that starts with the letter “S” (in Farsi). These items are as follows: Seeb (apple), representing Beauty; Senjed (ash fruit) for Love; Sekkeh (coin) for Prosperity; Samanoo (pudding) for Sweetness; Somaq (sumac) for Taste; Seer (garlic) for Health; and Serke (vinegar) for Patience. On the table we also put a mirror to symbolize reflection, a goldfish as freedom, candles as light and peace, and sprouts as life and the roots of family and friends.

We are still in our Norooz holiday, and still people in Iran are celebrating this tradition as in the past 3000 years. They are happily going to visit elder and younger family members during the Norooz days to wish a good year for one another: A year of peace, happiness, love, health, and prosperity. They are filled with happiness and feelings of the rebirth of the nature. They plan for the coming year and dream for their future, with their kids and grandkids. Everyone, regardless of religion and language, is celebrating Norooz. Iranian Muslims along with Iranian Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, Bahais, Turks, Kurds, Lurs, all are celebrating Norooz happily.

Many of these people follow the news of the United States. They cannot understand how the U.S. government so easily and comfortably speaks about the destruction of Iran and Iranians. At the start of this New Year, I glanced at the last year’s news in the American media and noticed a long line of sad news about the relations between U.S. and Iran. Here I want to share a short account of these disheartening news items with you:

• April 2007: John McCain sings: “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb bomb Iran.”
• June 2007: Wall Street Journal: “The case for bombing Iran: I hope and pray that president Bush will do it.”
• July 2007: New York Times: “Iran is about to go nuclear.”
• August 2007: New York Times: “George Bush first learned Iran had shut down the alleged program—”
• August: George W. Bush claims, without evidence: “Iran has proclaimed its desire to build a nuclear weapon.” (This is later proven to be false.)
• September 2007: Fox TV: “What a U.S. strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities would look like—”
• October 2007: New York Times: George Bush said, “I’ve told people that if you are interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing Iran from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”
• December 2007: The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) is released, and states: “We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program.”
• December: George W. Bush says in a news conference the day after the NIE was published: “Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous, and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge to make a nuclear weapon.”
• December: New York Times reports John Bolton said: “The finding that Iran halted a weapons program could just mean that it was better hidden now.”
• January 2008: President Bush takes a trip to Middle East. “I cannot control what the intelligence community says, but that [the NIE] conclusions don’t reflect my own views.”
• January: The Pentagon claims Iranian speedboats aggressively approached and threatened U.S. naval vessels.
• February 2008: The third row of sanctions on Iran is led by United States.
• March 2008: Admiral William Fallon resigns as head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOMM). Fallon was well known for his disagreement with the White House over their efforts to encourage military action against Iran.

Please pray for peace and happiness for all in this spring and Iranian New Year.