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Audio: Iran at the Crossroads


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Iran at the crossroads – will Obama prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb?

Panel Discussion with James Kirchick and Saba Farzan


When: Monday, February 25th, 2013, 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Where: Amadeu Antonio Stiftung, Linienstr. 139, 10115 Berlin

Please register at spaney@mideastfreedomforum.org

Discussion will be held in English

The Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin is cordially inviting you to a panel discussion (in English) with James Kirchick, journalist and fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and Saba Farzan, journalist and Head of Iran Research at Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin. The event will be moderated by Michael Spaney (Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin).

The conflict on Iran’s nuclear weapons program has entered its almost twentieth year and 2013 could very well be the decisive moment. With the reelection of President Obama, his upcoming trip to Israel in early March and a next round of negotiations in Kazakhstan on the 26th of February it is time for a review, snap – shot and prospect of US Iran policy. In this panel discussion issues of whether President Obama will prevent a nuclear armed Iran or enter history books as the Nobel Peace Prize winner who stood idly by while the Iranian dictatorship continues its nuclear weapons program will be discussed. This event aims also to tackle Obama’s relation with Israel in light of his first visit as President to the Holy Land. Finally, the two speakers will address how US Iran policy can and must support Iranian democrats and promote political change to Iran – the major policy option to end this enduring conflict for good.

James Kirchick is a journalist and foreign correspondent based in Berlin. He has reported from Southern and North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caucuses. Kirchick’s writing has appeared in The Weekly Standard, The American Interest, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, World Affairs andThe Los Angeles Times. He is a columnist for Ha’aretz and the New York Daily News, and writes the “Continental Drift” column on Europe for Tablet. His writing has also been published in Canada’s National Post, the Czech Republic’s Lidove Noviny and The Australian.
Kirchick has previously worked for The New York Sun, the New York Daily News, and The Hill. Kirchick was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale College in 2006.

Saba Farzan is a German – Iranian journalist and Senior Fellow and Head of Iran Research of Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin. Her area of expertise are Iran’s civil society, US – Iranian relations, US and European Middle East policy as well as immigration and integration in Europe. Her articles have appeared in German, Austrian and Swiss newspapers as well as The Wall Street Journal, Standpoint Magazine, The Huffington Post, Times of Israel and The Australian. She serves on the Advisory Board of Stand for Peace and is a Board member of the Berlin chapter of Liberal International. A native of Teheran, she was raised in Germany and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Bayreuth with research stays at the Kurt Weill Foundation and Yale University.