In Washington, Poetry Diplomacy With Iran

RFE/RL

U.S. nuclear negotiator Wendy Sherman and mausoleum of the Persian poet Saadi in Shiraz, Iran

In an October 23 keynote speech on the status of nuclear negotiations with Iran, U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Wendy Sherman cited a verse by the great Persian poet Saadi.

“Have patience; all things are difficult before they become easy,” Sherman, U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, said in remarks that came a month before the November 24 deadline for Iran and major world powers to reach a lasting nuclear deal.

The citation appeared to be an attempt by Sherman to reach out to Iranians by showing respect for their culture and love of poetry, an approach employed earlier by other U.S. officials as well, including the American leader.

U.S. President Barack Obama has recited Persian poetry in his efforts to engage Iran, as has State Department Persian language spokesman Alan Eyre, who frequently uses poetry in his media appearances and video messages to Iranians.

In his 2011 message for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Obama recited a verse from Simin Behbahani, a poet known as “The Lady of Iran’s Ghazal” who passed away in August and repeatedly faced pressure from Iranian authorities.

“Old, I may be, but, given the chance, I will learn. I will begin a second youth alongside my progeny. I will recite the Hadith of love of country with such fervor as to make each word bear life,” Obama said in his citation of Behbahani.

Behbahani later told VOA’s Persian Service that she appreciated the gesture.