A Letter from a Group of Iranian Scholars and Writers to Trump: Preserve the JCPOA

In continuation of the correspondence from various groups to Donald Trump, another group of Iranians living abroad has sent a new letter to the elected President of the United States, urging him to adhere to the JCPOA and maintain the nuclear agreement. The signatories of this open letter, which includes university professors from the U.S., writers, entrepreneurs, and artists, have asked Donald Trump to "prefer diplomacy over sanctions and war in negotiations with Iran" and to remain committed to the "P5+1 agreement with Iran." The signatories stated that "when the group of P5+1 was able to reach a comprehensive and final agreement with Iran, they, who called themselves 'a collective of Iranians in America, from academics, artists, business owners to human rights activists and democracy supporters,' breathed a sigh of relief." The authors emphasized to Trump that "this agreement prevents a catastrophic war between the United States and Iran." The letter references a previous letter from 37 American scientists and physicists to Trump, who had previously emphasized that "the JCPOA significantly reduces the likelihood of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East." The signatories noted that "the reduction of sanctions has not yet had a significant impact on the lives of ordinary people in Iran, but undoubtedly has given millions hope that the country's economy has moved away from the brink of collapse." They also expressed concern over any attempts to undermine the JCPOA. Among the signatories are Ervand Abrahamian (City University of New York), Abdolali Bazargan (writer and architect), Farideh Farhi (University of Hawaii), Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak (University of Maryland), Assef Bayat, Firouzeh Douma, Maziar Jabran (comedian), Shohreh Aghdashloo (actress), Shirin Neshat (artist), Trita Parsi (lobbyist and president of the National Iranian American Council), Ahmad Kiarostami (CEO of Quantum), Azam Ali (composer), and Kamran Elahian (entrepreneur and CEO of Global Catalyst Foundation), among 37 signatories. The signatories referenced part of Donald Trump's statements during the presidential campaign, where he said, "The Iraq war severely destabilized the region and imposed heavy financial and human costs on Iraq and the United States," stating, "We demand that the same war-hungry forces do not escalate tensions with Iran and worsen this sensitive situation." They emphasized that "millions of Iranians oppose many of the decisions made by their country's officials but simultaneously welcomed the nuclear agreement." According to the signatories, "many believe that ending the cycles of conflict with the United States will strengthen a space in Iran where other demands can be better asserted." They also asserted that "only an endogenous movement can lead Iran towards a more open society and a more accountable government." The signatories pointed out the historical context, stating that "sanctions and threats of war have led to the strengthening of hardline forces," emphasizing that "experience has shown that hardliners and authoritarian forces can more easily suppress democracy advocates and human rights activists in conditions of sanctions and foreign aggression threats, uniting people behind them by referencing these threats." In another part of the letter, it was stated that "disrupting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," while confirming the claims of Iranian hardliners regarding the unreliability of the United States, would also "once again put Iran and the United States on the path to war, which would be catastrophic for both countries." The signatories believe that "the United States and Iran need dialogue more than ever" and emphasized that "the space for interaction with Tehran will benefit democracy advocates in Iran and will also help you fulfill your promise to reduce military conflicts of the U.S. military in foreign countries and increase national security." Previously, in early December of this year, 30 Iranian political and civil activists living abroad had written a letter to Donald Trump, urging the new U.S. government to "expand existing sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the financial empire of Ayatollah Khamenei." They described "ISIS and the Islamic Republic of Iran" as "two sides of the same coin of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism." That letter received widespread reactions on social media, and many domestic media outlets and some reformist political activists criticized its content and signatories. Following that, 317 political and civil activists, most of whom lived in Iran and some of whom were recent political and ideological prisoners, wrote a statement calling the letter to Trump "anti-national" and "shameful." Meanwhile, 37 American scientists and physicists, including several Nobel laureates, wrote a letter to Donald Trump, urging the elected President of the United States to remain "committed" to the nuclear agreement, referring to the JCPOA as a strong barrier against "Iran's military nuclear program" and asking Trump to preserve this agreement as a "valuable and strategic asset of the country." Donald Trump, the elected President of the United States, who will take office in two weeks, made explicit criticisms of the JCPOA during his presidential campaign, calling it "the worst deal possible." He also stated that as President of the United States, he would tear up the JCPOA. These statements from Trump were met with a response from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who said, "We will not violate the JCPOA, but if the Americans tear it up, we will burn it." European Union officials, including foreign ministers of member states, emphasize support for the nuclear agreement with Iran and the world powers. In this context, Obama: Trump will eventually recognize the values of the nuclear agreement with Iran; U.S. Secretary of State: The nuclear agreement with Iran has made the region and the world safer; Rouhani: Are we going to let them tear up the JCPOA? The possible direction of Trump's Middle East policy; Qasemi on the extension of sanctions: We will act decisively against breach of promise; Kerry: Sanctions alone could not eliminate Iran's nuclear threat; Changing the game for "proxy forces"; War against the people in the streets of Iran; Paragraph one; The responsibility of opponents and the possibility of radicalizing Iranian society; The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis; 1300 hours of internet outages; Witkoff: A horrific massacre occurred during the protests in Iran; The shadow of war over Tehran; "Trump is looking for decisive military options against Iran."