I went to Iran, the country of my birth, in November of 2009 and stayed there for two months after being away for 30 years. I had left Iran right before 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah. Before I left for my visit back to Iran, I was feeling very agitated and depressed about the way things are here in the USA and I felt like I needed to get away for a while. -Azita Ebrahimi
Iran on Wednesday continued hailing its aerospace advancement by uncovering three new home-made satellites: Tolou, Mesbah 2 and Navide Elmo Sannat (Ya Mahdi) -ISNA
Iran on Tuesday test-fired the Kavoshgar 3 satellite carrier, sending its third explorer – with living organisms onboard – into space. The Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer) rocket, carrying an experimental capsule, transfers telemetric data, live pictures and flight and environmental analysis data.
Renowned director presents her Prix Henri Langlois award to Mourning Mothers of Iran
2010 February 3
Renowned Iranian director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad received the Prix Henri Langlois at the French festival for her collection of cinematic productions. “I dedicate this award to all the mourning mothers of my land”, she said at picking up her award.
Persepolis captain Karim Bagheri’s winner goal sealed an important victory over Esteghlal at the Azadi Stadium on Wednesday. Persepolis football team defeated its arch rival Esteghlal 2-1 in the 26th week of Iran Professional League (IPL) in front of approximately 80,000 spectators. -MNA
Ahmadinejad has proposed increasing funds for hard-line think tanks by 143 percent in his draft government budget. If passed by the parliament, hundreds of millions dollars more than the previous year would be directed to ideological institutes — mostly run by close associates of Ahmadinejad — that are trying to prepare the country for the imminent return of the “Hidden Imam.” -RFE
In response to Mr. Ahmadinejad’s remarks, the White House urged Iran to inform the International Atomic Energy Agency if it is ready to send low-enriched uranium abroad. Spokesman Mike Hammer said the U.S. has made a “good faith and balanced offer” to Iran that would power its nuclear research reactor. -VOA
China is supporting Ahmadinejad’s crackdown against the Iranian people, most recently by arming the Basij with anti-riot equipment and crowd control vehicles. These Chinese arms pose a lethal threat to the millions of Iranians who plan to protest for freedom and democracy in Iran on February 11th.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says Iran’s leaders are “sowing the seeds of their own destruction” by continuing a crackdown on the Iranian opposition. Biden said Tuesday the Iranian leadership’s use of force to put down opposition protests has cost it moral credibility within Iran and around the region. He was speaking in an interview with a U.S. television network.
Shannon Kile: I personally think that President Ahmadinejad genuinely wants to reach some sort of fuel-exchange deal. I think part of the problem in reaching the deal with the 5+1 states [Editor's Note: permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany] has in fact been the inability of President Ahmadinejad to get all of the leadership in Tehran on board, in particular the conservatives in the Iranian parliament. -RFE