While recent debate in the West about Iran has centered almost exclusively on its prohibited nuclear program, the Iranian public grows restive under the dictatorship of the mullahs and increasingly vocal about its desire for freedom. To highlight and encourage this movement, AEI hosted an unprecedented Iranian-American town hall meeting on December 3 that allowed AEI audience members to hear the views and ask questions of members of the Iranian opposition, some of whom spoke from inside Iran and whose identities were kept secret to protect their lives. The event was conducted entirely in Farsi with simultaneous translation for audience members gathered at AEI, and KRSI radio in Los Angeles broadcast the meeting live.

Opposition leaders within Iran spoke on the state of Iranian politics and hopes for U.S. assistance. An Iranian housewife criticized President Mohammad Khatami for not delivering on any of the promised reforms and losing any trust among democratic activists, and she indicated that every expression of support from President Bush energizes the activists. Her fellow dissidents agreed on the incompatibility of religion and politics and argued that the Iranian people need to determine the nature of their desired self-government through referendum. Two activists urged greater U.S. involvement in opposition radio, and one veteran of the Iran-Iraq war asked the United States to encourage global support for the Iranian freedom movement.

Several Iranians spoke from AEI on the need for regime change in Tehran. Ramin Parham of the Iran Institute for Democracy stated: "The mullahs believe that whatever they say and do is the will of God; how, then, is it possible to 'reform' God?" Aryo Pirouznia of the Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran noted the corruption of the mullah's rule and referred to the atmosphere in Iran as "a monologue against civilization" rather than a "dialogue of civilizations." Roozbeh Farahanipour, a member of the Marze Por Gohar party, noted that the protests are so widespread as to be joined even by President Khatami's bodyguards. Manda Ervin of the International Alliance of Iranian Women argued that 50 million young people in Iran have no future because of the regime, and she called upon the United States for greater support of the Iranian people and the cause of human rights.