Dear Delegates,

It is with the utmost excitement that I welcome you to the Iranian Council of Ministers and to the twenty-sixth session of the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference. My name is Joshua Glick and I will have the honor and pleasure of chairing what will be the most exciting and interesting committee at this year’s conference. I am a currently a senior double-majoring in Modern Middle Eastern Studies and Biological Basis of Behavior. Most of my free time is spent working with some form of Emergency Medicine – either at the fire department or in the hospital – and I hope to one day pursue a career in the field.

The Iranian Council of Ministers will serve as one of the most challenging committees at this year’s conference. As one of the fastest developing and most influential countries in the Middle East, the Council will be forced to address challenges at home and abroad. Interaction, cooperation (or perhaps not), and compromise with international leaders and organizations will be necessary for the success of this committee. You will also have the unique challenge of debating topics and defending viewpoints that may at times run perpendicular to your own – I encourage you to adopt the roles of the ministers. The level of debate depends entirely on your ability to approach the challenges of Iran from a purely Iranian perspective. You may find yourself supporting the development of a nuclear weapon or arguing in favor of the suppression of women’s rights. The economic, political, and social crises that you will face in this committee will not be easy – but strong debate and attention to policy will lead you through to success.

Every single staff member has been working tirelessly to make this committee dynamic, unpredictable, and definitely unique. Please do not hesitate to approach us with any questions or concerns about the committee or about the conference as a whole. We look forward to welcoming you all to the conference and to the committee in January.

Best Regards,

Joshua Glick

Chair, Iranian Council of Ministers

Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXVI

Dear Delegates, 

Welcome to the University of Pennsylvania’s annual Ivy League Model United Nations Conference and the Iranian Council of Ministers. My name is Rishav Kanoria and I have the pleasure of being your committee’s Crisis Director for what I hope to be a memorable and exciting conference. I am a junior in Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences and I am double-majoring in Political Science and Economics. 

Ever since the start of the war in Afghanistan, global attention and focus has been on the Middle East and in the past few years attention has been shifting rapidly to Iran given its important location and frightening capabilities. Since the era of the Shahs to the current regime of President Ahmadinejad, Tehran’s relationship with the world has dramatically changed, in many cases dangerously so, on issues that range from diplomatic relations to trade in goods to human rights. This ever-changing dynamic that exists today will make this Council one of the most challenging committees at this ILMUNC conference. From local to international issues, you will be forced to work together on situations that arise over the course of the weekend and you must compromise to reach an understanding to resolve problems since any small-scale issue could potentially erupt into a regional crisis. Your position as a leader in Iran will require you to adopt a certain viewpoint that your peers may disagree with. You will be required to work towards a goal that will be difficult to achieve, be it a reformation of women’s rights or increasing funding to develop weapons of mass destruction, but you must actively debate and cleverly present your ideas to try and see this through. 

I look forward to meeting you in Philadelphia. 

Best, 

Rishav Kanoria

Crisis Director, Iranian Council of Ministers

Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXVI