Welcome to the University of Pennsylvania and UPMUNC 2008. Furthermore, welcome to the Supreme National Security Council of Iran. My name is Karan Shah and I will be a senior by the time UPMUNC rolls around. I am in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science, majoring in Bioengineering. My personal interest in politics stems from my Model United Nations club in high school, which is what brought me to the Penn International Affairs Association and this committee. My MUN conference count is entering into the 20s, so I have been doing this for a long time, but I still enjoy it.
The Iranian National Security Council will be a very exciting committee. As one of UPMUNC's crisis committees, we have some very interesting simulations ready for you guys. The Middle East is a very unstable and volatile region, and the political and military situation in the region will undoubtedly change from now until UPMUNC starts. However, our compelling crises will only be enhanced by new information we get in the future.
I look forward to meeting all of you and having a great conference. I hope this conference will fulfill your expectations and that we can all have a good time. Good luck in your research and I will see you in November. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via email.
Karan Shah
shahkm@seas.upenn.edu.