Gained in translation: Obama's Persian language spokesman wins fans in Iran

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/29/obama-iran-persian-language-spokesman-alan-eyre

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In over three decades of animosity between Iran and its arch enemy, the US, so much has been lost in translation.

For instance, after Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad caused outrage by reportedly saying that Israel should be “wiped off the map”, it emerged that his words had not been accurately translated by his own state news agency. In fact, analysts said, Ahmadinejad meant that Israel will collapse over time; it was a prediction, not a call for war.

Today, with nuclear negotiations producing promising outcomes, the longstanding taboo in the Islamic Republic against talking directly with American officials is history. Not since the 1979 revolution have Tehran and Washington had such a good understanding of each other’s positions and values.

This is partly thanks to an American diplomat who communicates directly with the people of Iran. Alan Eyre, the US State Department’s Persian language spokesperson, enjoys near-celebrity status in Iran due to his impressive knowledge of Iranian literature.

Eyre, who speaks formal Farsi, often flavours his responses with a handful of ancient Persian expressions and a line of poetry to get his message across. That resonates with many in Iran.

“This job, for me, has been a real pleasure because it has allowed for me to learn more about Iran, to interact with Iranians and try to get America’s message to Iranians,” he told the Guardian.

“One of the problems is that just like many Americans perhaps have a skewed vision of Iran, I think a lot of Iranians, perhaps for a variety of reasons, have a vision of America that is quite inaccurate. So to the extent I can rectify or correct that or present a more realistic vision of America to Iranians, that’s the goal.”

Eyre, a former head of the Iran desk at the US consulate in Dubai, was appointed as a Persian language spokesperson in 2011. It was part of Barack Obama’s attempt to reach out to Iranians while relations were deteriorating under Ahmadinejad. Obama has issued regular messages on the occasion of the Persian new year, Nowruz, speaking directly to Iranians via YouTube videos.

Iran itself has a US-educated, English-speaking foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is in New York this week. He communicates with the American people directly through his Twitter account, newspaper articles, television interviews and public roundtables, including one at New America on Wednesday. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has by now spent more time with Zarif than any other foreign minister. They call each other John and Javad.

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Obama demonstrated how far America has come in understanding and acknowledging the mutual mistrust between Tehran and Washington.

In comments the likes of which have rarely been heard from an American president, Obama said: “Part of the psychology of Iran is rooted in past experiences, the sense that their country was undermined, that the United States or the west meddled in first their democracy [overthrowing the democratically elected prime minister in 1950s] and then in supporting the Shah – and then in supporting Iraq [in its war against Iran] and Saddam during that extremely brutal war.”

Ever since Hassan Rouhani’s election re-energised nuclear negotiations, Eyre has been part of the US delegation to the talks. This has put him in direct contact with the Iranian media. Though at first he mainly talked to the exiled Iranian media outlets, such as the BBC’s Persian language service, he now frequently speaks to state news agencies or websites operating inside Iran.

Eyre has become a familiar face among Iranians. His Facebook page has attracted more than 100,000 likes. He is also on Twitter and Instagram and has an “Ask Alan” initiative through social media, which allows Iranians to raise any questions. He is often bombarded with questions about nuclear issues, visa matters or when sanctions might end. In the absence of an American embassy in Tehran, the US has launched a virtual Iranian embassy online.

His popularity may, Eyre said, be “because I have shown there are American diplomats who have real love for Iran, love for the culture, love for the language”. People particularly like Eyre’s references to Persian poetry, from great poets such as Saadi, Hafez, Khayam and Rumi. “I have a little black book. I carry around bits of poetry that I like that resonates most with me. If I have a spare moment, I open it up and reread it.”

Eyre studied literature at college, where he was interested in Sufi poetry. That was when he began to learn Persian. “I wanted to see what it would be like to read them in original,” he said. Iran’s huge diaspora in Los Angeles also came to his help.

Today he has an important role in Iran-US relations. “One of the things I try to do is to inform people higher up – the White House, people at National Security Council, people at uppermost level of the state department – what I hear and my sense from the feedback I get from Iranians.”

In a recent post, Eyre expressed condolences to Rouhani on the occasion of his mother’s death. Kerry had also issued a similar message. “Thanks to you and Mr Kerry, it shows how America’s attitude to Iran has become more respectful and friendly,” one Iranian user commented beneath Eyre’s Facebook post.

Not everyone agrees. On a post Eyre shared in objection to the ongoing detention of the Washington Post’s reporter in Iran, Jason Rezaian, one user said: “You should first shut down Guantanamo Bay before interfering in the judicial matters of an independent country.”

Eyre said he does not know if a nuclear deal would lead to the re-opening of American and Iranian embassies in each others’ capitals.

But he said he hopes that one day he will be able to visit Iran – a country he has never visited.

“I’d like to go to Iran. This is a country I’ve focused on over thirty years both personally and professionally, so of course, it’d be one of the thrills of my life to finally go to one of the places I’d read about for so long.”