Excerpted:
I write to you as an American who has spent two decades in international development, as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from the area, and as someone who has lived and worked for more than a decade along your borders. I have spent long nights speaking with Iranian students, tourists, and truck drivers. I have shared tea at roadside stops and debated politics in halting English. I have heard pride in your voices, frustration in your whispers, and an unmistakable desire for dignity. Since the days of the second Iraq War, I’ve continued to explain to friends and colleagues that Iranians are wonderful people and much more similar to Western thought than they could guess based on what was in the news. I do not address you as an enemy of your faith. I address you as a friend of your sovereignty.
Full article by John Craig on RealClear World