Hawaii Pacific Model United Nations Conference 2018 Joint Crisis Committee - Cabinet of Iran Background Guide Cabinet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hawaii Pacific Model United Nations Conference Letter from the Director Dear Delegates, It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you all to the Hawaiian Pacific Model United Nations Conference, and to my committee - the Iranian Cabinet! It is my goal that all delegates, regardless of skill level or prior experience, find this committee challenging and intellectually stimulating. I was born in the Indian city of Surat, Gujarat, where my family made the decision to move to Canada just months after. From there, I journeyed across the world to Toronto, Ontario, where I spent my formative years. My family once again uprooted our lives to live in San Jose, California, where we now live. I am an alumni of Santa Teresa High School, and am currently a first year at the University of California, Berkeley, where I am prospectively studying Molecular and Cell Biology, as well as Public Health. At UC Berkeley, I am involved in Helix Medical, Phalanx Consulting, and am a volunteer at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Oakland. My commitment to Model United Nations started later than most students, where I happened upon my high school’s Model UN club in sophomore year, instantly gravitating towards the playing field I grew to love. I attended the Pacific Model United Nations Conference twice as a delegate, taking part in the United States Senate, and the Japanese National Security Council Crisis Committee in 2016 and 2017, respectively. During those years, I also served as Santa Teresa High School’s IRC’s treasurer. This year, I am honored to be your chair, and look forward to working with all of you! I am expecting a high level of preparedness and participation when it comes time for PacMUN 2018, and remember most of all to have fun in this process! Best wishes, Apurva Prasad 1 Cabinet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hawaii Pacific Model United Nations Conference Letter from the Crisis Director Dear Delegates, It is with much excitement and honor that I welcome you to this year’s conference. In creating the core of this committee, I hope for three things; that you would learn, challenge yourselves and make (or break) lasting connections. I am from Osu, a suburb of Accra, Ghana. I am currently a senior studying Human Biology with a concentration in Infectious Diseases and Child Health at Stanford University. I am currently a Resident Assistant at the Freshman Sophomore College, a Teaching Assistant for the Global Child Health Class, a Research Assistant at the Egan’s Lab for Infectious Diseases as well the President of the Stanford African Students’ Association (SASA). I joined Stanford’s Model United Nations’ team during my freshman fall with no prior experience and absolutely loved it. Since then, I have remained a part of the Stanford MUN travel team. I have traversed several states attending different conference. In the past two years, I have crisis directed the “Quest for an African Empire” committee and the “Greece JCC” at the annual Stanford Model United Nations Conference (SMUNC). I look forward to a weekend of creativity, diplomacy and uninhibited tenacity. Bring your best feet forward and I am sure we will all have great times! Looking forward to meeting you all. My very best, Brian A. Fleischer 2 Cabinet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hawaii Pacific Model United Nations Conference Letter from the Supreme Leader 16 November 2018 Brothers in Arms and Soul, We must be diligent in our work in opposing the evil regimes of the world and magnanimous in our efforts to protect the sanctums of prosperity. Time is passing over the opportunities that our great Islamic Republic can assert dominance against the evils in the Syrian battle against the evil Islamic State, and for our comrades under the benevolent rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, the administration of the great pillar of the West - the United States - continues to defile its government about the nature of our great nation and our people. In the words of myself: “even if we ever - impossible as it is - negotiated with the US, it would never ​ ever be with the current US administration.” We are fighting an uphill battle my friends; however, we have the tools to outwit, and outplay the enemies in this sandbox known as world politics. Within our righteous cabinet, discourse is not only suggested, but required in order to show our grandeur most effectively to the audience known as the human population. We shall ensure our position of power my friends! “Iran First,” Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei 3 Cabinet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hawaii Pacific Model United Nations Conference General Background of Iran History Pre-British Colonialism At her peak, Iran’s territory touched Russia to the North, encompassing the Caucuses and much of Central Asia, Mughal India to the East, and Europe to the West, including most of the modern day states in the Middle East in the fertile crescent. Iran has been a critical crossroads of the Eastern and Western parts of the Eurasian continent. Everyone from the Mongols, Silk Road traders, Muslim missionaries, etc. passed through Iran. It was known as cultural, scientific, and mathematically enlightened part of the world, with a diverse group of scholars inhabiting key cities in the country over the centuries. It has also been a hub of immigrants and various ethnic groups. As wars and people moved through this land, an eclectic mix of peoples, faiths, and languages have always marked Iran as a diverse society. th By the 11 ​ Century most of the people who now encompass modern day Iran had been ​ converted to the Islamic faith, yet the Iranian people sought to protect an independent and distinct identity from their Arab rulers.1 While they adopted their faith over a process of Islamization, there was movement to protect their independent identity known as Persianization. This led them to maintain the Persian language that is spoken to this day. Modern Day State th Near the turn of the 20 ​ Century, there had been a series of revolutions against the Shah. ​ In 1906, he finally conceded to a limited constitutional monarchy in exchange for remaining in th 2 power. The Majils (Parliament) convened for the first time on October 7 ,​ 1906. Iran had ​ steadily been losing territory to the Russians up North and was plagued with famine. Unfortunately, things were made worse with the discovery of petroleum in the country. The British Empire and the Russian empire sought to divvy up these resources in Iran, and the country’s sovereignty was disregarded and divided into spheres of influence by the two great 1 “Iran Profile - Timeline.” BBC News ​ ​ 2 “Persia/Iran.” New Articles RSS ​ ​ 4 Cabinet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hawaii Pacific Model United Nations Conference powers. The Ottoman, British and Russian empires increased their presence and occupation was made worse during World War I. Following the war, Britain was unable to establish a protectorate but continued to maintain influence in the country. Between 1925 and 1941, Reza Shah ruled the country with an iron fist. He introduced nationalism, militarism, secularism and anti-communism. His legacy is controversial because the country modernized significantly during his reign, but he also ran a police state with strict censorship. He was overthrown in favor of his son, Mohammad- Reza Shah.During World War II, allied troops worked hard to maintain control over Iran and its oil fields, which were crucial to the success of the military operations against the Germans. In 1951, then-Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, who was democratically elected, received the required vote from Parliament to nationalize the British-owned oil industry. Britain was infuriated, and forced the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi to remove the Prime Minister. The Shah obliged the British, but was forced to allow his return to power a year later following domestic uprisings. The second time around, the British and the Americans, acting through their covert agencies, MI6 and the CIA respectively, ran an operation to initiate a coup d’état of the Prime Minister to protect their oil industry from nationalization.3 Post-American Coup Iran’s democratic history was suppressed and discarded. The Americans worked with the Shah to institute an absolute monarchy in Iran. The Iranian government was forced to enter an economically outrageous deal with the West, that surrendered most of the profits and sovereignty of the country’s oil industry. During this time, the Shah initiated a series of reforms aimed at modernization and economic growth. However, the pro-Western policies alienated the conservative Islamic clergy. Major protests occurred almost every decade of the Shah’s rule. One 3 Mostofi, Khosrow, et al. “Iran.” ​ 5 Cabinet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hawaii Pacific Model United Nations Conference of the major leaders of these protests was Ayatollah Khomeini, who was spent the last 14 years of the Shah’s rule in exile in France.4 The Islamic Revolution In 1978, major demonstrations were rocking the reign of the Shah and the country was paralyzed. A year later, in January of 1979, the Shah left Iran to the United States for exile. A month later, Ayatollah Khomeini returned from France to Iran and the military shortly declared it was neutral, essentially surrendering the government to guerrillas and rebel troops. Iran officially became an Islamic Republic on April 1, 1979, when Iranians overwhelmingly voted to do so. The Ayatollah became the Supreme Leader in December of that year, and the Revolution had concluded.