Iran Program Mission and Vision

FOR Iran Program Vision

The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) believes that the United States must immediately engage more constructively with Iran. Unfortunately, decades-long policies of isolation between the U.S. and Iran have resulted in mutual demonization, misinformed public discussions, and poorly conceived policy. If the "Great Satan" and a key state in the "Axis of Evil" are to move closer to any accord on critical issues, they must reframe their understanding of each other, find ways to communicate, and build shared agendas for peace and stability. This work needs to be done by ordinary citizens as well as governmental representatives.

FOR Iran Program Mission

Achieving better understanding and shifting policy between the U.S. and Iran will require effort on many fronts, including a focus on building grassroots civilian diplomacy that the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) is ideally positioned to do. FOR has already led successful delegations to Iran, introducing dozens of U.S. community leaders to Iranian people and their concerns. These experiences have built trust with the Iranian government and further informed FOR's Iran program goals. Over the next three years, the FOR Iran program is pursuing three key civilian diplomacy goals:

(1) Connecting peace constituencies in the U.S. and Iran;

(2) Broadening mutual understanding of one another; and

(3) Mobilizing successful advocacy for peaceful, proactive alternatives to current confrontational policies between both countries.

FOR Civilian Diplomacy Delegations

The primary goals of FOR's Iran Civilian Diplomacy Delegations are leadership development and building capacity for peacemaking. Delegation experience help grassroots leaders to gain a nuanced understanding of complex sociopolitical issues, and also to build people-to-people relationships to support their ongoing effective action toward peaceful U.S.- Iranian relations. The program plans to send three to four Civilian Diplomacy Delegations to Iran each year.