Amirahmadi calls for a US consulate to be established in Iran

AIC President Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi discussed the lifting of sanctions and the need for the US and Iran to improve relations, in an interview with Russia Today.

"Unfortunately, the 'honeymoon' between the US and Iran is going to end unless they move swiftly to normalize the relationship and discuss every other issue," Amirahmadi said. "The nuclear accord within the context of an abnormal relationship cannot be sustained much longer. Moreover, President Rouhani and Supreme Leader Khamenei have put all their eggs in Obama's basket, but he is only going to be around for another 11 months. The next president, whoever it is, is going to be very tough on Iran."

"The biggest move would be for Iran to offer the US a consulate in Tehran— that is a bold and necessary move," Amirahmadi added. "Khamenei has already sanctioned developments like the JCPOA and the release of the prisoners. He needs to move one step further and authorize the opening of an American consulate in Tehran as a first step toward the reestablishment of diplomatic ties so that the two countries can get together on their soil to discuss other issues."

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Kayvon Afshari

Kayvon Afshari managed the campaign to elect Hooshang Amirahmadi as President of Iran. In this role, he directed the campaign’s event planning, publicity, online social media, web analytics, and delivered speeches. Mr. Afshari has also been working at the CBS News foreign desk for over five years. He has coordinated coverage of Iran’s 2009 post-election demonstrations, the Arab Spring, the earthquake in Haiti, and many other stories of international significance. He holds a Master in International Relations from New York University’s Department of Politics, and graduated with distinction from McGill University in 2007 with a double major in political science and Middle Eastern studies. At NYU, his research focused on quantitative analysis and the Middle East with an emphasis on US-Iran relations. In his 2012 Master’s thesis, he devised a formula to predict whether Israel would launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, concluding that an overt strike would not materialize.