Peace Corps Iran Association

The mass demonstrations against the repressive clerical regime in Iran are arguably the greatest threat the Iranian government has faced in 43 years.

From an essay by Paul Barker

Editor of the Peace Corps Iran Association Advocacy Bulletin

Perhaps because they are leaderless, the mass demonstrations against the repressive clerical regime in Iran are arguably the greatest threat the Iranian government has faced in 43 years. The risks that students, musicians, journalists, academics, athletes, and ethnic minorities shoulder to speak and act out against the government continue to be met with violent repression, judicial as well as extra-judicial killings, and mass imprisonment. The music of the protest is as haunting as it is beautiful. The silence of the Iran Melli soccer team while the Iranian national anthem was played in Qatar at the World Cup was a loud statement, as were the words of Iranian soccer stars in support of the anti-government protests.

Speak out: Protestors in London honor Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, who died in police custody in Tehran. She had been detained by Iran’s morality police for wearing a hijab headscarf in an “improper” way. Protests are taking place in Iran and the access to the internet and social media is now being restricted. Photo by Stephen Chung/Alamy

This is an important time for non-Iranian Americans to speak up for diplomacy and in defense of Iranian American journalists and scholars. Many who support the current
leaderless protests want to refer to this uprising as a revolution. This is particularly appealing to those wishing to see a free, democratic, much more secular Iran which fully respects and defends the human rights of women, girls, and other oppressed people in the country.

Iranians inside Iran should decide the future of Iran. Western governments should take stands and steps against the clerical regime’s supply of missiles, drones, and technical assistance to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine. The regime’s violent crackdown on protesters inside Iran should be denounced. At the same time, we need to ensure that doors remain open for eventual diplomacy with Iran on nuclear issues.

Paul Barker served as a Volunteer and staff in Iran and Bahrain 1971–76. Read more at peacecorpsiran.org.

This story appears in the Winter 2023 edition of WorldView magazine.

With the appointment of John Bolton to be National Security Advisor, this week’s confirmation hearing of Mike Pompeo to be the next Secretary of State, and a May 12^th deadline approaching on President Trump’s decision to uphold or withdraw from a multi-lateral nuclear agreement, U.S. relations with Iran will be regularly in the news over the next several weeks.

Because of that, it comes as no surprise the Peace Corps Iran Association (PCIA) – an NPCA affiliate group – is urging Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and others to urge diplomacy over conflict.

As part of a resolution supporting the nuclear agreement that members agreed to at a conference last October 31^st, PCIA noted they “strongly support diplomacy as the primary means for the United States and the international community to resolve issues of mutual interest with Iran and to prevent further military conflict in the region.”

Take Action

As the Pompeo hearings and other actions that are concerning to PCIA approach, PCIA urges all like-minded members of the Peace Corps community - and others - to take a five minute action with their Senators urging diplomacy with Iran.

Follow this link and take action.

For more information, you are encouraged to visit the PCIA website.

Nearly 150 Iran RPCVs attended a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, which featured panel discussions and workshops on topics ranging from advocacy and current events to archiving Peace Corps service materials and promoting person-to-person cultural exchanges.

At this biennial gathering of the Peace Corps Iran Association (PCIA), members generated a resolution supporting the Iran Nuclear Agreement. "We strongly support diplomacy as the primary means for the United States and the international community to resolve issues of mutual interest with Iran and to prevent further military conflict in the region."

The resolution comes as Congress considers the fate of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, more formally referred to as the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed by the U.S. and Iran, along with five other nations (China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom). In mid-October, during the quarterly review required by Congress, President Trump announced he was decertifying - but not withdrawing from - the agreement, giving Congress until mid-December to determine if it will fully withdraw from the JCPOA, uphold it, or take another action in an attempt to modify the agreement. 

Click here for contact information to call or write your Senators and express your views on the Iran Nuclear Agreement.

Learn More

• Read the PCIA resolution here
• Learn more about PCIA here
• Read the State Department overview of the JCPOA here