United Press International

A dialogue between the United States and Iran could solve most of their disputes, says Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Shirin Ebadi.

"This kind of dialogue should be direct and should be public," she said, adding it would work best at three levels -- with cooperation between governments, legislative bodies and non-governmental organizations.

Ebadi spoke with United Press International on a range of issues facing the two countries while in Washington, D.C. to promote her new book "Iran Awakening; A Memoir of Revolution and Hope."

The book details Ebadi`s life in Iran, where she served as a distinguished judge for many years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution rendered female judges illegal and put her out of a job. After writing several books and legal articles and raising her two daughters, Ebadi applied for a license to practice law and began taking on human rights cases.

She focused particularly on the rights of women and children in the Islamic Republic, often taking on high-profile cases embarrassing to the Iranian government.

While globally praised as an inspiration for all Muslims, her 2003 Nobel Peace Prize was interpreted by some as a response to President`s Bush invasion of Iraq and his speech naming Iran a member of the "axis of evil."

A vigorous supporter of the advancement of democracy in Iran, Ebadi has nevertheless come out in favor of President Ahmadinejad`s nuclear program. In February, Ebadi told reporters that "aside from being economically justified, it has become a cause of national pride for an old nation with a glorious history. No Iranian government, regardless of its ideology or democratic credentials, would dare to stop the program."

Ebadi said that the Bush administration`s funneling of millions of dollars into democracy programs in the Middle East would do little to diffuse the nuclear crisis or win the hearts and minds of Iranians already suspicious of American motivations.

"This is not going to help the advancement of democracy in Iran. It gives the Iranian government an excuse to accuse each and every person who speaks about human rights and democracy of being paid by the United States.\' Democracy movements, she continued, \'have to be supported by the people of the West and the media of the West. Not by their governments."

Comparing American interference in Iranian affairs to its support of the Taliban prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, Ebadi said: "The Americans should know that in 1953 as the result of a coup sponsored by the CIA in Iran Prime Minister Mossadeq was overthrown. Had that coup not happened, Iran would have been in a very different place."

The best way to win back the trust of the Iranian people, said Ebadi, is for the U.S. government "to bring an end to the Iraq war, leave Iraq and let the United Nations take over." Noting that the United States cannot afford the expense of this war, Ebadi says that the money should instead be put towards the reconstruction of Iraq.

"Unfortunately, the 'war on terror' has become an excuse for the repression of civil rights. I am against any kind of terror and violence. I think that terrorists should be punished according to the laws. My problem is that (innocent individuals`) civil rights and liberties are being limited."

Noting that some improvements have been made in Iranian family law since she won the Nobel Peace Prize, Ebadi turned to the subject that has formed the cornerstone of her career -- her staunch belief that Islamic law is not incompatible with advances in human rights.

"Islam can be interpreted like any ideology," she said. "As we can see in the United States, one church condones homosexuality while another will not. But both are Christian churches. There is the same thing with Islam. For instance, punishment of stoning and the cutting off of hands is enforced in Iran and Saudi Arabia but not in other Muslim countries. Therefore, which Islam are you talking about?"

The very existence of Ebadi`s memoir generated controversy when she filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department last October, in an attempt to overturn regulations which prohibit the import of books -- including the broadly defined materials "not fully created and in existence" -- from Iran.

"The argument of the American government was that I might have gained an income," said Ebadi. "But my argument was that this was a cultural matter and cultural affairs should not be legislated. As a result of this, the American people would be banned from the information and this is against your constitution."

The U.S. Treasury Department eventually reversed the ban, not only for Ebadi, but for all informational materials coming out of Iran.

"This is where you can see the independence of the judiciary in America," she said. "And I thank them for it."

Since winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, death threats against Ebadi have increased, and the publication of her book in the United States is likely to inflame conservative forces within the Iranian government.

Ebadi, who has been imprisoned for her human rights work and at one time was on a list of reformers targeted for assassination, refuses to be cowed.

"I will go back to Iran," she said. "Whatever is written in the book is the truth and is documented and I am ready to pay the price for whatever I have said."