Time to act

International Iran Conference Berlin

November 28 - 29, 2009

Schedule:

 Saturday, November 28, 2009

6 p.m.

Introduction and Greetings

Michael Spaney, Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin

Fathiyeh Naghibzadeh, Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin

Charles A. Small, Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism

6.30 p.m. – 9.00 p.m.

Opening panel:

Iran 2009: Terror, Nuclear Program, Opposition and the West
 

The Iranian Regime and the Freedom Movement: An assessment of the current situation
Ali Alfoneh
American Enterprise Institute, USA

Iran’s Nuclear Program and Terror Support: The threat to Israel and international security
Gerald Steinberg
Bar-Ilan University, Israel

Is Diplomacy at a dead end? The Islamic Republic and the West
Emanuele Ottolenghi
Director of Transatlantic Institute in Brussels, Belgium

Germany and Iran: A fatal friendship
Matthias Küntzel
Political Scientist, Board Member Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Germany

Chair: Andreas Benl
Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin, board member, Germany

Sunday, November 29, 2009

 Introduction

10.00 a.m.

Jörg Rensmann, Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin

Kirsten Tenhafen, Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin

10.15 a.m. - 12.00 a.m.

Money, Power and Terror: The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps

The Economic Empire of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran
Ali Alfoneh
American Enterprise Institute, USA

Terror and the Export of Islamic Revolution: The global activities of the Revolutionary Guards
Ilan Berman
Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council, USA

Chair: Jonathan Weckerle
Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin, board member, Germany

12.45 p.m.  - 2.30 p.m.

Germany's "Business as Usual" with Iran

German Think Tanks and Iran-experts: The Islamic Republic as a strategic partner?
Saba Farzan
Exile-Iranian, sociologist and publicist, member of the German Liberal Party (FDP), Germany

Surveillance Technology made by Siemens and other German-Iranian Business Ties
Jonathan Weckerle, Michael Spaney
Activist for STOP THE BOMB, Germany

Chair: Sebastian Voigt.
Historian and author, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Germany

2.30 p.m.  – 4.00 p.m.

Lunch

4.00 p.m. – 5.45 p.m. 

The Debate on Sanctions

US Legislation, US Policy: Engagement and Sanctions
Ilan Berman
Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council, USA

Political and Economical Sanctions and their Effects on Iran
Emanuele Ottolenghi
Director of Transatlantic Institute in Brussels, Belgium

Chair: Charles A. Small
Director of the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism, USA

Beginning at 6.30 p.m.

Final panel:

Iran, Israel and the West: Strategies and scenarios

Negotiating with Iran
MP Gisela Stuart (tba.)
Member of the British Parliament, Labour party, Foreign Affairs Select Committee, United Kingdom

Reliable partners? Western Policies towards Iran and Israel
Daniel Schwammenthal
Editorial writer, Wall Street Journal, USA

Changing Iran
Saba Farzan
Exile-Iranian, sociologist and publicist, member of the German Liberal Party (FDP), Germany

Iran and the European Union
Jana Hybášková
Politician, former member of the European Parliament, Czech Republic.

Chair: Richard Herzinger
Political Correspondent, “Die Welt” and “Die Welt am Sonntag”, Germany