His Christian family fled Iran half a century ago when he was a youngster. It was only three years ago when, with hesitation and considerable fear, he returned to inquire concerning his family’s real estate holdings. Since then he has made successive trips to Iran. He has a good sense of the feeling of the general public as opposed to what Iran’s religions and Revolutionary Guard have to say.
He made the following points:
1) Gen. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari apparent endorsement of the Framework Agreement between the USA and Iran is very significant, since he heads the Revolutionary Guards who are a very powerful portion , if not the most important, of the government establishment. The New York Times carried an article on this the following morning.
2) The Iranian public is overjoyed at the prospect of an accord and the lifting of sanctions. Although the announcement was made after midnight Iranian time, people poured out onto the streets to celebrate. Since his first visit, he has observed how out of step Iranian’s government is with the pro-western sentiment of its population.
3) He feels the USA should hold the Saudi’s responsible for their funding of ISI, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, and other Sunni terrorist groups.
4) Russian president Vladimir Putting may soon visit Iran. It is rumored he is seeking a Russian base on the Persian Gulf. Iranians distrust Russians and it is unlikely he will succeed.
5) He noted how militant are the Sephardic Jews in contrast to the more peace seeking Ashkenazic Jews, the latter having borne most of the fighting on behalf of Israel.
