Much of the information coming out of Iran is in the form of footage uploaded to the Internet without the benefit of any description or explanation. Each installment in the Close-up series will provide an in-depth analysis of a single video or a series of videos covering one event.
A satirical video clip released by a pro-regime blog portrays opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi as a would-be dictator supported by the West and leading fanatical mosque-burning protesters. The film ends with Mousavi's trial and execution.
Bachehayeh Ghalam (Children of the Pen), a blog which delivers a mix of fact, conspiracy theories, and disinformation in support of the legitimacy of the regime and against imperialism, posted the video entitled 'The Great Dictator' this week (film and translation at the end of this report). The site appears close to the 'pragmatic conservative faction' led by the likes of Ahmadinejad rival and Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani and Majlis research center head Ahmad Tavakoli. As such, the fictional trial and execution of Mousavi appears to conform to the hardening stance of the pragmatic conservatives.
One of the latest posts on the site explains that the earthquake in Haiti was triggered by the United States using a HAARP weapon (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program). Hugo Chavez, Ahmadinejad ally and idol of some young Iranian radicals, made the same announcement last week, claiming that the Haiti earthquake was just a drill and that the ultimate target of the weapons system would be Iran:
Bachehayeh Ghalam is run by a young Iranian man who is also involved in a drive to boycott 'Zionist products.' He is linked to Majlis research center head Ahmad Tavakoli's news site, Alef. I am not divulging this person's identity because as far as I can ascertain he has exercised his right to free speech without directly calling for violence.
The well-produced clip pays more than nominal homage to Chaplin and is made to look like an old silent movie. It paints the opposition as a tool of foreign media and governments, and suggests that protesters are rioters and pushy women with no real links to Islamic values:
Video highlights:
0:00 - 0:28
Panel: 'The Great Dictator'
Footage of Mousavi on the night of the presidential election, June 12, 2009.
Panel: 'Ladies and gentlemen! The election is currently taking place...'
Panel: '...but I am the definite winner with a high proportion of the votes.'
0:29 - 0:45
Footage of BBC Persian newscast.
Panel: 'Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has become president with 24 million votes.'
Footage of jubilation in the streets with the sound of cheering in the background.
0:46 - 0:58
The music becomes morose as we see footage of a round table on BBC Persian which includes Sadegh Saba, the new head of the service, and Ahmad Salamatian, former Islamic Republic foreign minister (1979) and post-revolution Majlis representative from Isfahan who has been a dissident based in Paris for over 25 years.
Panel: 'We are worried and there was definitely fraud...'
The regime has accused the foreign media of provoking the post-election unrest.
0:59 - 1:33
Mousavi with his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, at his side. Rahnavard, a successful and influential intellectual, is another favorite target of the regime.
Panel: 'Iran will erupt in flames.'
Protesters, fires in the street, motorcycles ablaze...
Melancholy music as scenes of devastation are shown.
1:34 - 1:53
Barack Obama being interviewed on CBS.
Panel: 'We will support the people of Iran.'
Women demonstrate. The fact that they are wearing relatively skimpy outfits and no headscarves is a less-than-subtle way of suggesting they are loose and foreign-based.
Panel: 'Give back our vote.'
1:54 - 2:06
BBC Persian newscast.
Panel: 'Mrs. Rahnavard, what is the proof of fraud?'
Panel with laughter in the background: 'Because Mr. Mousavi is a Turk and married to a woman from Lorestan [Province].' Mousavi is from Azerbaijan Province, hence the reference to being Turkish. Rahnavard is from Lorestan Province. The opposition questioned Mousavi's low turnout in his 'home state.'
2:07 - 2:21
Footage of Mousavi's press conference.
Panel: 'I will hold firm until the end.'
Fire and destruction in the streets...
2:22 - 2:30
The show trials, including a closeup of Mohammad Ali Abtahi, close adviser to Khatami and senior member of the Association of Combatant Clerics. Abtahi, one of the most popular political bloggers in Iran, was arrested shortly after the election and is believed to have been coerced into giving a televised confession.
Panel: 'The fraud was an excuse. Everything was planned.'
2:31 - 2:37
Street protests.
Panel: 'Independence. Freedom. Iranian Republic.'
The original revolutionary slogan was 'Independence, freedom, Islamic Republic.' The new counter-slogan voiced during the post-election protests has particularly stung the regime and its supporters.
2:38 - 2:46
'Decent Iranians' being interviewed.
Panel: 'These people must be confronted with determination.'
2:47 - end
Footage of the show trials, presided by Judge Abolghassem Salavati.
Forrest-Gump-like special effect of Mousavi in prison garb and on trial.
Judge Salavati reads the verdict.
Panel: 'Mr. Mousavi will be severely punished.'
Footage of Saddam, his face pixelated, being hanged.
Panel: 'The End'
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Will Tehran newspaper be banned again, this time for sexy logo?
In the midst of the Islamic Guidance Ministry's recent crackdown on the press, a hard-line weekly has attacked a national daily for its racy new logo.
Partoyeh Sokhan magazine, whose last front page headline was 'We will support the Supreme Leader until our last drop of blood,' published an article decrying what it saw as a dancing woman in Tehran Emrooz (NB Tehran Today) newspaper's redesigned logo.
'The letters of the word Emrooz in Tehran Emrooz's logo have been changed in such a manner that they resemble a dancing woman,' the investigative weekly revealed. The magazine referred to the end of the letter R, which now resembles 'a female leg in the act of dancing,' and the ends of the letter O and Z, which have been modified to look like arms (NB The paper does not indicate whether the arms belong to a woman or a man.). The weekly wrote that other elements in the logo were questionable, but that they were 'not fit to be published.'
Tehran Emrooz daily is close to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, conservative mayor of Tehran and Ahmadinejad rival. The newspaper was banned in June 2008 for having published a special section on the third anniversary of Ahmadinejad's presidency which was deemed too insulting. The paper was only reopened in January of last year.
'We ask officials of the Islamic Guidance Ministry to address a warning to Tehran Emrouz and demand that it change its logo,' wrote Partoyeh Sokhan, which is not a satirical publication. '[The Ministry] is urged to exercise even greater attention so that other parties do not deliberately or unwittingly take similar steps.' No doubt the Islamic Guidance Ministry will soon be forming a special Rorschach brigade.
Ebrahim Nabavi, journalist and satirist, told the Voice of America, 'Because many occupations do not exist in Iran, people get pulled into other fields. For example, I believe that the person who wrote this commentary has a lot of talent for making pornographic films. Instead of writing stuff like this in Partoyeh Sokhan, he should go to California. [...] You don't even see such imagination in Boccaccio. These are rare talents. To take a letter A or a pen and to see six dancing women. [...] In other places, they get Gabriel Garcia Marquez, we have Mesbah Yazdi. (NB hard-line ayatollah and Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor).'
Readers are invited to participate in the homylafayette competition: 'What do you see in Partoyeh Sokhan's logo?' Please enter your comments below...
Partoyeh Sokhan magazine, whose last front page headline was 'We will support the Supreme Leader until our last drop of blood,' published an article decrying what it saw as a dancing woman in Tehran Emrooz (NB Tehran Today) newspaper's redesigned logo.
'The letters of the word Emrooz in Tehran Emrooz's logo have been changed in such a manner that they resemble a dancing woman,' the investigative weekly revealed. The magazine referred to the end of the letter R, which now resembles 'a female leg in the act of dancing,' and the ends of the letter O and Z, which have been modified to look like arms (NB The paper does not indicate whether the arms belong to a woman or a man.). The weekly wrote that other elements in the logo were questionable, but that they were 'not fit to be published.'
Tehran Emrooz daily is close to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, conservative mayor of Tehran and Ahmadinejad rival. The newspaper was banned in June 2008 for having published a special section on the third anniversary of Ahmadinejad's presidency which was deemed too insulting. The paper was only reopened in January of last year.
'We ask officials of the Islamic Guidance Ministry to address a warning to Tehran Emrouz and demand that it change its logo,' wrote Partoyeh Sokhan, which is not a satirical publication. '[The Ministry] is urged to exercise even greater attention so that other parties do not deliberately or unwittingly take similar steps.' No doubt the Islamic Guidance Ministry will soon be forming a special Rorschach brigade.
Ebrahim Nabavi, journalist and satirist, told the Voice of America, 'Because many occupations do not exist in Iran, people get pulled into other fields. For example, I believe that the person who wrote this commentary has a lot of talent for making pornographic films. Instead of writing stuff like this in Partoyeh Sokhan, he should go to California. [...] You don't even see such imagination in Boccaccio. These are rare talents. To take a letter A or a pen and to see six dancing women. [...] In other places, they get Gabriel Garcia Marquez, we have Mesbah Yazdi. (NB hard-line ayatollah and Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor).'
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Case closed: Suspicious deaths of IRGC front company head and his wife not murder, says investigating magistrate
Mohammad Hossein Shamlou, investigating magistrate at the 1st branch of Tehran's criminal affairs division, declared today that the mysterious deaths of a director of a holding company close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and his wife were accidental and caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Shahin Soleimanipour's lifeless body was found in her home in Tehran's exclusive Ozgol neighborhood on December 10, 2009. Her husband Majid was discovered unconscious and transferred to Shahid Chamran Hospital where he was declared dead.
View Ozgol district, Tehran in a larger map
The case would not have gained any more prominence than a short mention in the inside pages of newspapers, except for two facts. The deaths occurred at a time of heightened tension in a country known for mysterious and convenient disappearances. And, more intriguingly, Majid Soleimanipour was the managing director and member of the board of directors of the Tosse'eh Etemad Mobin company.
The consortium that Soleimanipour managed appears to have been a front company of the IRGC and had on September 27 bought a controlling stake in the Telecommunication Company of Iran for $8 billion in a purchase that was both rigged and the largest transaction in the history of the Tehran stock exchange. The operation provoked concern about the IRGC's increased ability to monitor telephone and Internet communications. Since the sale of the telecom stock was ostensibly carried out in line with the government's privatization drive, the Majlis launched a subsequent investigation in order to determine whether the company had simply been traded from one state body to another.
The consortium is made up of three companies: Tosse'eh Etemad, Shahriar Mahestan, and Iran Mobin Electronics Development Company, according to Masoumeh Taherkhani writing in Donyayeh Eghtesad. Tosse'eh Etemad and Shahriar Mahestan investment companies are directly run by the IRGC's social affairs mutual fund. Mobin Electronics belongs to the Setadeh Ejraieh Farman Emam (The Staff for the Enforcement of the Imam's Decree), a labyrinthine foundation directly under the authority of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office. (for a previous article on the telecom purchase, click here)
Davoud Zareian, Telecommunications Company of Iran spokesman, said that Soleimanipour had been working until 10 PM Wednesday evening and that the couple's dead bodies had been discovered in their bedroom. His comments were contradicted by the judiciary's official statement which said that Soleimanpour had been found in another room and that he had still exhibited a weak pulse before being taken to the hospital.
Seyed Massoud Miri, spokesman for the Tosse'eh Etemad Mobin consortium, said that the couple's son had found them on Thursday morning. In response to a question about why the son had not suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, Miri said that the son slept in another room.
Soleimanpour had close links to the IRGC. He was a senior official at Imam Hossein University, which is under the authority of the Revolutionary Guards. According to some reports, he was the acting commander of the institution. He wrote for the Imam Hossein University's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Journal, though it was not possible to confirm the claims of some sources that he was the quarterly's editor several years ago. Soleimanipour was also a senior member of the Iranian Society of Cryptology, set up by the research division of the IRGC. The ISC even issued a statement of condolence following Soleimanipour's death. The Tosse'eh Etemad Mobin consortium's public relations office states that he obtained a doctorate in computer science and information technology from a Canadian university.
Given the sensitive nature of the case, senior officials quickly became involved. A day after the bodies were discovered, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told the Islamic Republic News Agency that no signs of violence had been observed on the victims and that they had passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning. Jafari Dolatabadi said that the room containing the house's heating unit had been sealed off. 'The next of kin have not mentioned murder,' the prosecutor added helpfully, saying that the matter would be investigated.
Mohammad Hossein Shamlou, investigating magistrate of the 1st branch of the Tehran criminal affairs division, was tasked with the investigation. Today Shamlou offered his findings to Fars News in a terse statement, which given the importance of the case appears both overly succinct and cavalier. 'The gas company's experts have determined that the cause of death of the late Soleimani (sic), purchaser of the telecom's stocks, was a gas leak in the evacuation pipes of the furnace room,' Shamlou said, not explaining what part of legal procedures in the Islamic Republic allows gas company experts to determine the cause of death.
'The gas company claims that the evacuation pipes are cracked in many places,' Shamlou told Fars News, apparently not having seen the cracks himself and taking the gas company's word for it.
Shamlou's powers of deduction also allowed him to conclude, 'The person responsible for the furnace room, the house's builder, and the overseeing engineer are at fault.'
Case closed.
Shahin Soleimanipour's lifeless body was found in her home in Tehran's exclusive Ozgol neighborhood on December 10, 2009. Her husband Majid was discovered unconscious and transferred to Shahid Chamran Hospital where he was declared dead.
View Ozgol district, Tehran in a larger map
The case would not have gained any more prominence than a short mention in the inside pages of newspapers, except for two facts. The deaths occurred at a time of heightened tension in a country known for mysterious and convenient disappearances. And, more intriguingly, Majid Soleimanipour was the managing director and member of the board of directors of the Tosse'eh Etemad Mobin company.
The consortium that Soleimanipour managed appears to have been a front company of the IRGC and had on September 27 bought a controlling stake in the Telecommunication Company of Iran for $8 billion in a purchase that was both rigged and the largest transaction in the history of the Tehran stock exchange. The operation provoked concern about the IRGC's increased ability to monitor telephone and Internet communications. Since the sale of the telecom stock was ostensibly carried out in line with the government's privatization drive, the Majlis launched a subsequent investigation in order to determine whether the company had simply been traded from one state body to another.
The consortium is made up of three companies: Tosse'eh Etemad, Shahriar Mahestan, and Iran Mobin Electronics Development Company, according to Masoumeh Taherkhani writing in Donyayeh Eghtesad. Tosse'eh Etemad and Shahriar Mahestan investment companies are directly run by the IRGC's social affairs mutual fund. Mobin Electronics belongs to the Setadeh Ejraieh Farman Emam (The Staff for the Enforcement of the Imam's Decree), a labyrinthine foundation directly under the authority of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office. (for a previous article on the telecom purchase, click here)
Davoud Zareian, Telecommunications Company of Iran spokesman, said that Soleimanipour had been working until 10 PM Wednesday evening and that the couple's dead bodies had been discovered in their bedroom. His comments were contradicted by the judiciary's official statement which said that Soleimanpour had been found in another room and that he had still exhibited a weak pulse before being taken to the hospital.
Seyed Massoud Miri, spokesman for the Tosse'eh Etemad Mobin consortium, said that the couple's son had found them on Thursday morning. In response to a question about why the son had not suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, Miri said that the son slept in another room.
Soleimanpour had close links to the IRGC. He was a senior official at Imam Hossein University, which is under the authority of the Revolutionary Guards. According to some reports, he was the acting commander of the institution. He wrote for the Imam Hossein University's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Journal, though it was not possible to confirm the claims of some sources that he was the quarterly's editor several years ago. Soleimanipour was also a senior member of the Iranian Society of Cryptology, set up by the research division of the IRGC. The ISC even issued a statement of condolence following Soleimanipour's death. The Tosse'eh Etemad Mobin consortium's public relations office states that he obtained a doctorate in computer science and information technology from a Canadian university.
Given the sensitive nature of the case, senior officials quickly became involved. A day after the bodies were discovered, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told the Islamic Republic News Agency that no signs of violence had been observed on the victims and that they had passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning. Jafari Dolatabadi said that the room containing the house's heating unit had been sealed off. 'The next of kin have not mentioned murder,' the prosecutor added helpfully, saying that the matter would be investigated.
Mohammad Hossein Shamlou, investigating magistrate of the 1st branch of the Tehran criminal affairs division, was tasked with the investigation. Today Shamlou offered his findings to Fars News in a terse statement, which given the importance of the case appears both overly succinct and cavalier. 'The gas company's experts have determined that the cause of death of the late Soleimani (sic), purchaser of the telecom's stocks, was a gas leak in the evacuation pipes of the furnace room,' Shamlou said, not explaining what part of legal procedures in the Islamic Republic allows gas company experts to determine the cause of death.
'The gas company claims that the evacuation pipes are cracked in many places,' Shamlou told Fars News, apparently not having seen the cracks himself and taking the gas company's word for it.
Shamlou's powers of deduction also allowed him to conclude, 'The person responsible for the furnace room, the house's builder, and the overseeing engineer are at fault.'
Case closed.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Nepotism in the paradise of the oppressed
Favoritsm in the Islamic Republic is reaching such proportions that even pro-regime news outlets are beginning to notice.
Jahan News recently posted an article entitled 'The noteworthy presence of one family in the Saipa automobile company,' referring to the growing number of Ahmadinejad chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashai's relatives in key positions at Saipa Corp.
'Despite the president's repeated admonishments and the positions he has taken concerning the aghazadeha (NB A term which literally means 'gentlemen's sons' and can be loosely translated as 'daddy's boys.' It refers to the children of regime figures who get rich through their connections.),' the article began, 'the appointments of several relatives of a government figure have come under question by the people, especially supporters of Dr. Ahmadinejad.'
Mashai, a close ally of the president, has been a favorite target of anti-Ahmadinejad Principlists (NB osoulgara), conservatives who seek a return to what they see as the founding principles of the Islamic Revolution. After stiff opposition to Mashai's possible appointment as First Vice President, some Principlists were enraged by Ahmadinajd's decision to name Mashai as his chief of staff. Ahmadinejad recently exhibited a similar devil-may-care determination, some would call it disdainful arrogance, when he appointed former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi to a government position after a Majlis report found Mortazavi responsible for the deaths of protesters at the Kahrizak detention center.
Mashai is particularly close to Ahmadinejad and his daughter is married to one of the president's sons, Mehdi, a civil engineer. Photos of the wedding were leaked last year in order to highlight the simple lifestyles of the president and Rahim Mashai. The only food that was served reportedly consisted of one banana, apple, and orange per guest. The women were in Rahim Mashai's residence, while the male guests were entertained in a neighbor's house.
Jahan news reported, 'Reza Rahim Mashai (NB Esfandiar's son) has been named managing director of Saipa's investment arm and [Mashai's nephew] has been appointed to Saipa's business development office.'
'Arash Kousha, Mashai's other nephew, was previously named the manager of Saipa soccer club,' Jahan News added.
Arash Kousha's appointment two months ago had already provoked an outcry, especially since he had previously filled a cushy position, with no connection to sports, as director of environmental tourism at the Cultural Heritage Organization when Mashai had run that state body. In the following state television interview on a sports program called '90' (NB the number of minutes in a soccer match), Kousha employed all sorts of equivocation in responding to the pointed questions of the young and able host Adel Ferdowsipour (a translation follows the video):
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
Where did you work previously, Mr. Kousha?
Arash Kousha:
I was at the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
You have some sports background too?
Arash Kousha:
Yes, I worked at Tehran City Hall's cultural and sports organization which handled some sports teams. (NB Esfandiar Rahim Mashai also headed this body at the time, when Ahmadinejad was mayor of Tehran.)
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
By the way, I read somewhere today that you have some relation to Mr. Rahim Mashai... Is he your uncle?
Arash Kousha:
I might be related to many people...
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
Yes, but is this claim true?
Arash Kousha:
In any case, there is some connection.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
A connection... Is he your uncle or not?
Arash Kousha:
No, he's not my uncle.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
Pardon?
Arash Kousha:
He's not my uncle.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
Is he related?
Arash Kousha:
Yes, there is some relation.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
All right. Thank you very much.
To be fair, Mashai's largesse has not been restricted to his family and relatives. As the newly-appointed head of the government's cultural committee which makes him the country's top cultural authority, a position which he holds alongside that of presidential chief of staff, he authorized a 200-million-touman (NB about $200,000) subsidy to movie actress Hadiyeh Tehrani so she could organize an exhibit of her photography at the Artists' House (NB Khaneyeh Honarmandan).
Mashai reportedly bought the most expensive photograph at the exhibit for 3.7 million toumans (about $3,700). The subsidy and subsequent purchase have stirred some resentment among Principlists, who wrote disparaging articles and posted the following caricature on their news outlets.
Hadiyeh means gift in Farsi.
Jahan News recently posted an article entitled 'The noteworthy presence of one family in the Saipa automobile company,' referring to the growing number of Ahmadinejad chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashai's relatives in key positions at Saipa Corp.
'Despite the president's repeated admonishments and the positions he has taken concerning the aghazadeha (NB A term which literally means 'gentlemen's sons' and can be loosely translated as 'daddy's boys.' It refers to the children of regime figures who get rich through their connections.),' the article began, 'the appointments of several relatives of a government figure have come under question by the people, especially supporters of Dr. Ahmadinejad.'
Mashai, a close ally of the president, has been a favorite target of anti-Ahmadinejad Principlists (NB osoulgara), conservatives who seek a return to what they see as the founding principles of the Islamic Revolution. After stiff opposition to Mashai's possible appointment as First Vice President, some Principlists were enraged by Ahmadinajd's decision to name Mashai as his chief of staff. Ahmadinejad recently exhibited a similar devil-may-care determination, some would call it disdainful arrogance, when he appointed former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi to a government position after a Majlis report found Mortazavi responsible for the deaths of protesters at the Kahrizak detention center.
Mashai is particularly close to Ahmadinejad and his daughter is married to one of the president's sons, Mehdi, a civil engineer. Photos of the wedding were leaked last year in order to highlight the simple lifestyles of the president and Rahim Mashai. The only food that was served reportedly consisted of one banana, apple, and orange per guest. The women were in Rahim Mashai's residence, while the male guests were entertained in a neighbor's house.
Jahan news reported, 'Reza Rahim Mashai (NB Esfandiar's son) has been named managing director of Saipa's investment arm and [Mashai's nephew] has been appointed to Saipa's business development office.'
'Arash Kousha, Mashai's other nephew, was previously named the manager of Saipa soccer club,' Jahan News added.
Arash Kousha's appointment two months ago had already provoked an outcry, especially since he had previously filled a cushy position, with no connection to sports, as director of environmental tourism at the Cultural Heritage Organization when Mashai had run that state body. In the following state television interview on a sports program called '90' (NB the number of minutes in a soccer match), Kousha employed all sorts of equivocation in responding to the pointed questions of the young and able host Adel Ferdowsipour (a translation follows the video):
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
Where did you work previously, Mr. Kousha?
Arash Kousha:
I was at the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
You have some sports background too?
Arash Kousha:
Yes, I worked at Tehran City Hall's cultural and sports organization which handled some sports teams. (NB Esfandiar Rahim Mashai also headed this body at the time, when Ahmadinejad was mayor of Tehran.)
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
By the way, I read somewhere today that you have some relation to Mr. Rahim Mashai... Is he your uncle?
Arash Kousha:
I might be related to many people...
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
Yes, but is this claim true?
Arash Kousha:
In any case, there is some connection.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
A connection... Is he your uncle or not?
Arash Kousha:
No, he's not my uncle.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
Pardon?
Arash Kousha:
He's not my uncle.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
Is he related?
Arash Kousha:
Yes, there is some relation.
Host Adel Ferdowsipour:
All right. Thank you very much.
To be fair, Mashai's largesse has not been restricted to his family and relatives. As the newly-appointed head of the government's cultural committee which makes him the country's top cultural authority, a position which he holds alongside that of presidential chief of staff, he authorized a 200-million-touman (NB about $200,000) subsidy to movie actress Hadiyeh Tehrani so she could organize an exhibit of her photography at the Artists' House (NB Khaneyeh Honarmandan).
Mashai reportedly bought the most expensive photograph at the exhibit for 3.7 million toumans (about $3,700). The subsidy and subsequent purchase have stirred some resentment among Principlists, who wrote disparaging articles and posted the following caricature on their news outlets.
Hadiyeh means gift in Farsi.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Iranian diplomat in Norway confirms he resigned to protest regime's actions
For two weeks the Iranian government and official media outlets have claimed that news of the resignation of an Iranian diplomat in Norway in protest to the Islamic regime's crackdown is a lie.
But this evening, Mohammad Reza Heidari, Iran's former consul in Oslo, gave an interview to Norway's NRK channel (video and translation at the end of this report) and set the record straight: He has indeed resigned in protest and it appears that it was the Islamic regime that has engaged in spreading falsehoods. Other reports signal broad dissatisfaction among Iran's diplomatic corps and the resignation and defection of at least 27 diplomats.
News of Heidari's resignation began surfacing on January 5 and was initially based on the claims of the Norweian-Iranian Support Committee, an opposition group. At the time, NRK stated that it had spoken to Heidari and that he had defected. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry declared that it was unaware of the situation.
The Islamic regime riposted by saying that the news was disinformation spread by enemies of the state. Various explanations were engineered by the Islamic Republic: that Heidari's term had simply ended, that he was on vacation... Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the following, as recently as two days ago, minimizing Heidari's role at the embassy, providing a lesson in diplomatic relations and offering a veiled warning to Heidari:
Newscaster:
The Foreign Ministry spokesman added the following about the individual who has been described as Iran's head consul in Norway and has been said to have requested political asylum...
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast:
We have an embassy in Norway. In places where we have embassies, we cannot have consulates. So these things that are mentioned in the news -- sometimes they speak of the Islamic Republic's ambassador or the chief consul -- well, this is incorrect information. Mr. Heidari is a consular employee and his mission has come to an end. He has a problem with his child's academic life. He would like to stay there a bit longer in order to resolve issues concerning his child's university. I think that he is wiser and wilier than to take the wrong path with respect to the fabrications of some people who oppose the revolution and the regime.
The ensuing NRK news report, prepared by Iranian-Norwegian journalist Mina Ghabel, is mostly in Norwegian, but the sections in Farsi have been translated below. The footage shows Zohreh Moini of the Norwegian-Iranian Support Committee coming to Heidari's house to give him a bouquet of flowers. She tells Heidari, 'I congratulate you on your return to the people's freedom-seeking movement.'
Mohammad Reza Heidari:
I was constantly conflicted during the past seven months and asked myself, 'Why should these events take place in my country? What are my people seeking, after all?' On Ashura Day (NB December 27, commemoration of the 7th-Century martyrdom of Imam Hossein, a key figure in Shiism. For several reports and videos on what occurred during protests on Ashura, click here), the blood of my countrymen was shed only because they wanted freedom and what is referred to in the West as democracy. My conscience could not stand those images. I declared that I was resigning so that the people could see that we were with them.
[...]
They said that if I denied this news, I would be able to return. I know that my decision is the right one. My conscience is clear. I hope that my friends around the world, who are listening to me and seeing me and know me, will also stand alongside the people and that they will spurn personal interests and think of the nation's interests.
Rahman Saki, spokesman for the Support Committee in Germany, spoke to the Voice of America's Newstalk program, and gave additional information this evening. Saki rejected all of the Islamic Republic Foreign Ministry spokesman's allegations, except for the fact that Mr. Heidari is indeed wise. 'Mr. Heidari had not come to the end of his mission in Norway. He had eight months left. Furthermore, Mr. Heidari's son is still in high school and he will not be going to university for some time,' Saki said. 'The Islamic Republic has dispatched a three-man delegation to Norway to meet with Mr. Heidari. They have made all sorts of promises to him, if he retracts his resignation and gives an interview at Tehran airport, saying that he never resigned. Mr. Heidari has refused to meet the delegation, which is still in Norway as we speak.'
In the same program, VOA's journalist in Rome, Ahmad Rafat, reported that he had personally spoken to three Iranian diplomats in Europe who had stated that the country's diplomatic corps was riven with dissatisfaction. 'One diplomat told me that he was preparing to resign [...] and that 27 diplomats in Europe, but also in countries in Asia, had resigned,' Rafat said. These resignations have occurred in recent weeks, particularly after the violence against protesters on Ashura, Rafat reported from Rome. Not all of these individuals have become refugees, but some are thinking of coming to Europe to ask for political asylum.
But this evening, Mohammad Reza Heidari, Iran's former consul in Oslo, gave an interview to Norway's NRK channel (video and translation at the end of this report) and set the record straight: He has indeed resigned in protest and it appears that it was the Islamic regime that has engaged in spreading falsehoods. Other reports signal broad dissatisfaction among Iran's diplomatic corps and the resignation and defection of at least 27 diplomats.
News of Heidari's resignation began surfacing on January 5 and was initially based on the claims of the Norweian-Iranian Support Committee, an opposition group. At the time, NRK stated that it had spoken to Heidari and that he had defected. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry declared that it was unaware of the situation.
The Islamic regime riposted by saying that the news was disinformation spread by enemies of the state. Various explanations were engineered by the Islamic Republic: that Heidari's term had simply ended, that he was on vacation... Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the following, as recently as two days ago, minimizing Heidari's role at the embassy, providing a lesson in diplomatic relations and offering a veiled warning to Heidari:
Newscaster:
The Foreign Ministry spokesman added the following about the individual who has been described as Iran's head consul in Norway and has been said to have requested political asylum...
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast:
We have an embassy in Norway. In places where we have embassies, we cannot have consulates. So these things that are mentioned in the news -- sometimes they speak of the Islamic Republic's ambassador or the chief consul -- well, this is incorrect information. Mr. Heidari is a consular employee and his mission has come to an end. He has a problem with his child's academic life. He would like to stay there a bit longer in order to resolve issues concerning his child's university. I think that he is wiser and wilier than to take the wrong path with respect to the fabrications of some people who oppose the revolution and the regime.
The ensuing NRK news report, prepared by Iranian-Norwegian journalist Mina Ghabel, is mostly in Norwegian, but the sections in Farsi have been translated below. The footage shows Zohreh Moini of the Norwegian-Iranian Support Committee coming to Heidari's house to give him a bouquet of flowers. She tells Heidari, 'I congratulate you on your return to the people's freedom-seeking movement.'
Mohammad Reza Heidari:
I was constantly conflicted during the past seven months and asked myself, 'Why should these events take place in my country? What are my people seeking, after all?' On Ashura Day (NB December 27, commemoration of the 7th-Century martyrdom of Imam Hossein, a key figure in Shiism. For several reports and videos on what occurred during protests on Ashura, click here), the blood of my countrymen was shed only because they wanted freedom and what is referred to in the West as democracy. My conscience could not stand those images. I declared that I was resigning so that the people could see that we were with them.
[...]
They said that if I denied this news, I would be able to return. I know that my decision is the right one. My conscience is clear. I hope that my friends around the world, who are listening to me and seeing me and know me, will also stand alongside the people and that they will spurn personal interests and think of the nation's interests.
Rahman Saki, spokesman for the Support Committee in Germany, spoke to the Voice of America's Newstalk program, and gave additional information this evening. Saki rejected all of the Islamic Republic Foreign Ministry spokesman's allegations, except for the fact that Mr. Heidari is indeed wise. 'Mr. Heidari had not come to the end of his mission in Norway. He had eight months left. Furthermore, Mr. Heidari's son is still in high school and he will not be going to university for some time,' Saki said. 'The Islamic Republic has dispatched a three-man delegation to Norway to meet with Mr. Heidari. They have made all sorts of promises to him, if he retracts his resignation and gives an interview at Tehran airport, saying that he never resigned. Mr. Heidari has refused to meet the delegation, which is still in Norway as we speak.'
In the same program, VOA's journalist in Rome, Ahmad Rafat, reported that he had personally spoken to three Iranian diplomats in Europe who had stated that the country's diplomatic corps was riven with dissatisfaction. 'One diplomat told me that he was preparing to resign [...] and that 27 diplomats in Europe, but also in countries in Asia, had resigned,' Rafat said. These resignations have occurred in recent weeks, particularly after the violence against protesters on Ashura, Rafat reported from Rome. Not all of these individuals have become refugees, but some are thinking of coming to Europe to ask for political asylum.
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