Farzad Farhangian was a 23-year veteran of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He held a number of diplomatic posts in various European countries, including France. In September of 2010, Mr. Farhangian, serving as the Second Consul in the Islamic Republic’s Embassy in Brussels, defected to Norway in a sign of protest to the policies of the Iranian government. He spoke to Arash Aramesh of InsideIRAN.org about the upcoming nuclear talks in Istanbul. more»
Ashkan Parsa
TEHRAN–President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has intensified his campaign to increase his executive powers and weaken the position of the Iranian parliament. The president wants less oversight by the parliament so he can increase the administration’s influence and dominance on the legislative and the judicial branches. Currently, the parliament is controlled by conservatives, the same political family from which Ahmadinejad was born. But these so-called traditional conservatives are opposed to many of Ahmadinejad’s policies, especially the administration’s economic and cultural programs. Their main concern is Ahmadinejad’s lack of respect for the constitution and the president’s implementation of programs that are unconstitutional. more»
Babak
TEHRAN– Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran’s chief prosecutor, said last December 31 that leaders of the “sedition” should be tried. He insisted that Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi will soon face a trial for their alleged crimes. But while these words might seem alarming particularly coming from Tehran’s highest judicial official, they should not shock anyone. more»
Ashkan Parsa
TEHRAN—President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s opponents say that his UN visits embarrass Iranians and project a violent image of the Iranian people. For many years, the Iranian president denied the existence of the Holocaust. Many in the United States began to compare him to Hitler, and his country to Nazi Germany. But his controversial comments about Jews and the Holocaust seem to have lost their attraction for the Western media. On this past trip, American journalists, instead, asked about human rights violations in Iran. more»
Ali Sepehr
PARIS—No matter the view in Iran over whether Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is rightfully the president, he will have the opportunity once again to appear at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York as Iran’s head of government. In the past, his speeches have angered and humiliated the West, increased his popularity on the streets of the Arab world, and embarrassed a large number of Iranians at home vehemently opposed to his policies. more»