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At face value, the U.S. Congress, there is a - they have a long way to go before they fully appreciate and understand Iranian people.

Fortunately, Iranians are politically active worldwide.

It is longstanding U.S. policy that we will talk to the Iranians anytime, anywhere, on any subject, with no preconditions. So far, they have not taken us up on our offer.

We are convinced that the only way to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue is through negotiations.

The Iranian people are known for adhering to their undertakings. We have been tested by history. We're an old civilization. We've been tested by history. We haven't aggressed upon any country for 250 years. This is a history that I'm proud of.

Obviously, having served in wars myself, I'm eager to do everything possible to avoid them, but our military capability vis-a-vis a country like Iran is a major source of leverage in any negotiation that we should never, ever give up.

With Iran, we negotiated privately in 2012-2013 from a position of strength, not a position of weakness. The secret negotiations in Oman. This ultimately led to the Joint Plan of Action of November 2013.

In short, the time has come for us as American and Iranian citizens to apply our mutual energy, intellect, and goodwill toward strengthening relations between our two countries, as their destinies are intertwined.

You don't have any communication between the Israelis and the Iranians. You have all sorts of local triggers for conflict. Having countries act on a hair trigger - where they can't afford to be second to strike - the potential for a miscalculation or a nuclear war through inadvertence is simply too high.

Because Iranians have had to fight so long and painfully for political freedom, they have a deep appreciation for its value - perhaps deeper than many in the West who take their electoral rights for granted.