The 28th Assyrian Universal Alliance Congress kicked off in Tehran on October 6th. Assyrian Christians from more than twenty countries participated in the event. High ranking government officials attended this six day event. Central office of the International Union of Assyrians was transferred from the United States to Iran on October, 2008. Iranian officials believe that this is good news.

The Assyrians are happy with Iran as well Assyrians are a distinct ethnic group with a history that goes back to 3500 BC in ancient Mesopotamia . They all can speak and many can read and write dialects of Neo-Aramaic, a language that is tied to the Church since it uses the Syriac language in liturgy. Assyrians are divided among several churches and their culture is largely influenced by religion.