Washington, DC—On June 30, 2009, the Women’s Foreign Policy Group held a program on Iran in Washington, DC featuring Barbara Slavin, Assistant Managing Editor for World and National Security for The Washington Times, and author of the book, Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the US and the Twisted Path to Confrontation. Ms. Slavin took the audience behind the headlines in her discussion of the June 12 Iranian election, the protests, and what the internal turmoil means for Iran and its relations with the United States and the rest of the world. She explained that the crisis is not over, but that it is merely entering a new phase in which the Iranian people will have to continue being creative in getting their story out to the world.

After her remarks, a lively discussion ensued about President Obama’s reaction to the situation, the difficulty of covering the story given the crackdown, expulsion, and arrest of journalists and other sources, the impact the situation might have on the nuclear issue, and Iran’s policies and actions vis--vis the rest of the Middle East. Ms. Slavin hopes that the public will stay interested in this issue and demand coverage on Iran from the media since what happens in Iran is of great importance and significance for not just Iran, but the rest of the world as well.

Barbara Slavin and Patricia Ellis	Patricia Ellis, Barbara Slavin, and Elizabeth Thompson  of the Woodrow Wilson Center
Jim Slattery of Wiley Rein, LLP, Barbara Slavin, WFPG Board Member Isabel Jasinowski, and  Eileen O'Connor of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP	Lynn Holec of ITR, LLC, posing a question
WFPG Members and guests during the reception	Barbara Slavin and Patricia Ellis
Patricia Ellis, Stanley Kober of the CATO Institute, and WFPG Board Member Diana Villiers Negroponte	Barbara Slavin speaking to guests during the reception

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