On September 26, the American Instituted for Iranian Studies (AIIrS) President Franklin Lewis attended a meeting of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran that was held at the residence of the Permanent Representative, Ambassador Javad Zarif. The occasion provided the opportunity for academics in the fields of Iranian Studies or Persian language and literature to meet the Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, in New York for the UN General Assembly.

Many academics were in attendance, including: Tajmah Asefi, Persian, University of Pennsylvania; Richard Bulliet, History, Columbia University; Peter Chelkowski, Middle East Studies, New York University; Ramazan Dawlati, Islamic Persian School of New York (Queens); Carl Ernst, Religion, University of North Carolina (AIIrS Trustee); Richard Frye, emeritus, Harvard University; Alice Hunsberger, Asia Society Museum/Hunter College; Hossein Kamali, Columbia University, Library; Manouchehr Kasheff, Persian, Columbia, and Encyclopaedia Iranica; Farhad Kazemi, Middle East Studies, New York University; Franklin Lewis, Persian, Emory University; Mahdavi-Damghani, Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard and Board Member of the International Society of Persian Culture; Atefeh Oliai, Persian, University of Wisconsin, Madison and Fazlullah Reza, former chancellor of Tehran University and Sharif University (then Aryamehr) in the 1960s and 1970s; former Iranian ambassador to UNESCO and then to Canada in the late 70s; and former head of the Council of Promotion of Persian Language and Literature in North America.

The Iranian diplomats and officials attending included: Dr. Kamal Kharrazi, Foreign Minister of Iran; Dr. Javad Zarif, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations; Mr. Mehdi Tabeshian, current Cultural Ambassador to the UN; Mr. Hossein Fereidun, incoming Cultural Ambassador to the UN; Mr. Ali Jazini, Iranian Interests Section, Washington D.C. and Mr. Mehdi Faridzadeh, President, International Society for Iranian Culture.

Dr. Lewis began with a description of the current academic exchange programs of the AIIrS, emphasizing the visiting professors who have come from Iran. AIIrS Trustee Carl Ernst was asked to describe the visit of AIIrS Iranian Fellow Dr. Kakaie and the many benefits that have ensued. Ambassador Tabeshian mentioned the successful working relationship between AIIrS and the Dehkhoda Institute, as well as the presence of Dr. James Clark in Tehran as AIIrS resident fellow. The meeting closed with Foreign Minister Kharrazi expressing his appreciation and encouragement.

The following day, September 27, AIIrS Executive Director Erica Ehrenberg attended a conference in New York entitled “The Call for a New World Order: Dialogue Among Civilizations Revisited,” co-sponsored by the US-Iran Program of Search for Common Ground and the International Society for Iranian Culture. The program consisted of three panel discussions on topics of interfaith dialogue and Iranian-US relations. Speakers included Ambassador William Miller, Search for Common Ground and The International Society for Iranian Culture; Reverend James P. Morton, Interfaith Center of New York; Seyyed Hossein Nasr, George Washington University; Reverend George McLean, The Catholic University of America; Richard Bulliet, Columbia University; Fred Dallmayr, University of Notre Dame; Javad Faridzadeh, Former Director, Iranian Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations, and Senior Advisor to President Khatami; Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, The Boeing Company, and Former U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs; and Ambassador Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian Permanent Representative to the United Nations. The keynote address was delivered by Kamal Kharrazi, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

After the sessions, Dr. Ehrenberg was able to speak with Hossein Fereidun, the incoming Iranian Cultural Ambassador to the UN who will be replacing Ambassador Mehdi Tabeshian as the liaison with AIIrS. He relayed his interest in continuing work on projects-in-progress and examining new possible initiatives. Ambassadors Tabeshian and Fereidun also offered any assistance to Dr. Ehrenberg for her upcoming trip to Iran for AIIrS program evaluation and to attend the International Iranology conference.