Sunday
Jan242010
Iran and Israel: The Start of a Beautiful Friendship?
Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 9:05
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vY-4zWKsJM[/youtube]
It happened not in Casablanca but in Madrid, during a tourism fair....
An Israeli delegation, headed by Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, was taking a stroll around the other exhibits when they stumbled upon the Iranian booth, manned by Tourism Minister and Vice President Hamid Baghaei. Baghaei was shy at first but he then presented Iran's wonders and invited Misezhnikov to see them first-hand.
This is the second beautiful encounter between Iranian and Israeli officials this month. The director of foreign relations for Iran's football team, Mohammad Ali Ardebili, began 2010 with a New Year's greeting to the head of the Israel Football Association's legal department, Amir Navon. The Israelis replied with "happy new year to all the good people of Iran" and hopes for "a happy soccer year".
Alas, as with every new relationship, there are lows as well as highs. Iranian state media quickly denied the flirtation in Madrid, insisting, "(The) Zionist regime published a blatant lie in order to distract global attention from its crimes in Gaza." And football's Mr Ardebili also backed away from the special moment during his phone call, "Are you talking from Israel? I can't speak with you. It's a mistake, it's a mistake."
To which we can only reply, "Love Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry."
It happened not in Casablanca but in Madrid, during a tourism fair....
An Israeli delegation, headed by Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, was taking a stroll around the other exhibits when they stumbled upon the Iranian booth, manned by Tourism Minister and Vice President Hamid Baghaei. Baghaei was shy at first but he then presented Iran's wonders and invited Misezhnikov to see them first-hand.
This is the second beautiful encounter between Iranian and Israeli officials this month. The director of foreign relations for Iran's football team, Mohammad Ali Ardebili, began 2010 with a New Year's greeting to the head of the Israel Football Association's legal department, Amir Navon. The Israelis replied with "happy new year to all the good people of Iran" and hopes for "a happy soccer year".
Alas, as with every new relationship, there are lows as well as highs. Iranian state media quickly denied the flirtation in Madrid, insisting, "(The) Zionist regime published a blatant lie in order to distract global attention from its crimes in Gaza." And football's Mr Ardebili also backed away from the special moment during his phone call, "Are you talking from Israel? I can't speak with you. It's a mistake, it's a mistake."
To which we can only reply, "Love Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry."