Baskerville Friendship Blog provides commentary and informed analysis of United States and Iran.

We welcome submission of blog posts discussing America and Iran, friendship examples, differences and commonalities, and how current situation in Iran can be better understood by examining the past. Submissions can be emailed to Baktiari@BaskervilleInstitute.org.

The cultural connections between United States and Iran run deep. Iran and the United States have had a unique people-to-people interactions dating back to 1811. This included the missionaries who helped build schools and clinics, financial advisers who brought their expertise to banking and commerce, and educationalists and aid workers and more than 1600 U.S. Peace Corps volunteers who went to Iran from 1964-1979. Many of these volunteers received their training at Utah State University, selected because of Utah’s topographical similarity to Iran, One source estimated that approximately 850,000 Americans traveled to Iran from 1969-1979 during the Shah of Iran’s last decade in power. On the other hand were the Iranians who went to the United States, especially students who attended American institutions of higher learning. There were more than 50,000 Iranian students in the United States when the shah was overthrown in 1979. In that year, Iranians were the largest group of international students enrolled in universities in the United States.

Friendship Gallery

Compiled by our researchers, this digital library of photos and documents provide a snapshot of goodwill ambassadors who nurtured the seeds of friendship, respect, tolerance, and dignity. Baskerville’s death inspired the celebrated poet and scholar Malek ol-Shoar’a Bahar and Aref Ghazvini.

Oh, thou, the revered defender of the freedom of men,
Brave leader and supporter of justice and equity,
Thou has given thy life for the felicity of Iran,
O, may thy name be eternal, may thy soul be blessed!