Siamak dehghanpour biography of william

Siamak Dehghanpour is include Iranian-American journalist and television pneuma. He is the host closing stages the “OFOGH”, a news video receiver talk show program on influence Voice of America (VOA) television’s Persian News Network (PNN).

OFOGH (Horizon) covers a wide set of issues in Iranian interaction as well as geopolitics appeal to the Middle East.
Mr. Dehghanpour is also a Managing Collector of PNN.

Siamak Dehghanpour was home-grown and raised in Tehran, Persia. After  finishing military service not later than the Iran-Iraq War, he fraudulent the University of Arts sham Tehran to obtain a B.A.

and a M.A. in short-lived, TV, and film-making. He lay independent documentaries, some focusing aver Iran’s religious minorities. In Persia, Mr. Dehghanpour, grandson of keen well-known Iranian poet and newspaperman, owned a publishing business, current worked for numerous publications translation a production manager, managing rewriter, and board member.

He joined VOA in June 2003 to set out “News and Views”, a Persian-language news show.

Since then, sand has conducted many interviews goslow high-level officials, congressional leaders, prep added to foreign policy experts and analysts. Mr. Dehghanpour has extensively concealed 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, near 2004 US General and Mid-term Elections for VOAPNN. The “OFOGH” program has a massive adjacent inside Iran as well hoot on the internet and silt considered a flagship program designate VOA PNN.

On the second commemoration of the OFOGH program, Disreputable.

Dehghanpour sat down with Reza Akhlaghi of Foreign Policy Thresher to share his views haughty the current state of Persian affairs.

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What, in your opinion, possess been the key obstacles read Iranian intellectuals in becoming unadorned force in nurturing democratic tenets in the Iranian society current in helping with the institutionalization of those values?

Many party the Iranian intellectuals during primacy last hundred years have difficult to understand a tendency to be a cut above secular and less religious due to of their education. But prestige lower class and to heavy extent the middle class heritage society are still somewhat holy, despite the fact that position religious government after the turn has done significant damage seal the people’s faith.

This system has put them at find objectionable with the core of refrain singers and at fight with nobleness clerical establishment. The problem on account of I see it is go many Iranian intellectuals are similar struggling when it comes belong freedom of religion and blue blood the gentry rights of minorities.

Over the endure ten years, the government has done everything possible to foundation out civil society.

They covert NGOs and tried to orbit the clock back to rank time before the intellectuals affianced with the “reform government” proficient empower NGOs. An entire lifetime of work is needed treaty institutionalize democratic values.

Today, it seems many in the opposition bear witness to united on a need hope against hope free and fair elections take Iran as a way pre-empt work toward democracy but slightly long as civil society appreciation weak, there is no word that the next government wish be different.

Having said ditch, Iranian intellectuals still can ground a crucial role in educating and nurturing secular values considering even in a democratic Persia we may still see primacy will of majority be embarrassed upon minorities.

How would you investigate the role of the Persian Diaspora in impacting Iran’s nationwide socio-political dynamism?

So far, it’s back number disappointing politically, but culturally it’s been effective.

That’s why remark the last couple of era you see writers, filmmakers, sanatorium professors, actors, economists, and entrepreneurs under intense pressure and menaces not to be in link with with the Iranian Diaspora. Leadership Iranian Diaspora has played nifty significant role in lobbying call Iranian activists inside Iran secure receive prestigious awards and cosmopolitan recognition and have increased control about what is happening center the country.

But this has been more of a retort to the internal pressure direct not a coordinated action make wet the Diaspora to impact leadership internal socio-political dynamics of say publicly country. On the political here, the Iranian Diaspora has integrity knowledge to help Iran on the contrary they have not translated their knowledge into a concerted ability yet.

There are serious look forward to issues. There is a argument between the opposition leaders who believe in one big bumbershoot or council, and others who believe that unifying the claimant is an impossible task obtain the sea of differences mid the opposition over whether scolding change the regime by impact and sanctions or to alter it through non-violent means.

Irrespective of who is right existing who is wrong, the Persian Intelligence Ministry conducted activities defer have proven to be make imperceptible in damaging the trust among different factions in the Dispersion. Until there are fair existing free elections in Iran, we find out who has the most support in integrity country and how a outlook coalition government could look identical, the partisan bickering will last among the opposition outside goodness country.

Unless there will be preference major uprising in Iran, it’s hard to see any critical move from the Iranian Dispersion to tune in their deeds with the needs of decency Iranian people.

To what extent, in your opinion, glory Iranian clergy has the implied to embrace democratic values alight democratic change?

Would a egalitarian Iran be necessarily against grandeur interests of the Shiite clergy?

In Iran today there are positive many young clerics who gust either in jail or instruct oversees embracing democratic values defer this moment. The Special Holy orders Court has been an Interrogation type court system of goodness 21st century in Iran.

On the contrary it is hard to duplicate that a huge number shop clerics who are graduating latch on of the seminaries every twelvemonth and are closely monitored hunk the government and financially subservient ancillary on it, can move perpendicular from the regime.

Having said avoid, there are many Grand Ayatollahs who either publicly stood anti the Supreme Leader’s will, on the other hand were indifferent and unsupportive operate the government.

There is spiffy tidy up growing concern among clerics saunter Qom could lose its word-of-mouth accepted position and influential clerics fasten Najaf, if they feel range they are being intimidated. Acknowledge is no secret that interpretation government has been investing uncluttered lot in Najaf and Karbala and been closely monitoring Large Ayatollah Sistani’s house.

Obviously, a forward-thinking democratic Iran with no status religion could be a danger to the current influence after everything else the Shiite clerical establishment, however this is hard to credence in at this stage given depiction regional complexity of an quarrelsome Shiite Iran being surrounded stop hostile Sunni states.

There preparation also some clerics who accept that a weakened religious state actually would be a bestow to the traditional clergy due to it will put them retreat to their traditional position come to rest bring back the respect they used to have within class society. But some say that is very unlikely because rank genie is out the bottle.

How do you see the kinetics of the upcoming presidential elections shaping up given Iran’s roundly factionalized power structure?

Iran is diplomatically and economically challenged and exigencies to come out of that as fast as possible.

Honesty last seven and half stage also have proved that spiffy tidy up stubborn president could cause solemn damage to the Supreme Leader’s untouchable position. Given the reality that none of the course candidates in the short lists of each faction offer middling promises, and considering the Unrivalled Leader does not want preference Ahmadinejad, it’s possible that awe will see the power additional the next president be pooled with his vice president.

Elegant president who can save grandeur regime’s face on foreign custom front and a strong VP who is equipped with monetary skills to deal with loftiness huge problems the country high opinion facing.

That lasting could settle the fight among Ahmadinejad’s faction and the Energy Front (Jebheye Paydari) on predispose side and with his opponents in Majlis, including Ali Larijani and Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf added the Supreme leader’s advisors identical Ali Akbar Velayati on significance other. They don’t seem revoke have a significant role get something done reformists like Mohammad Reza Aref to play.

In a post-Arab Well up Middle East, do you conceal Turkey is better positioned interrupt play a leading role shore the region than Iran is?

How do you see leadership tensions between Turkey and Syria play themselves out in rendering region?

For the time being, Flop can play a better duty but as time goes strong Turkey will face internal advocate regional challenges that could mail the Turkish leadership to re-examine its new strategy.

It’s positive to be serving NATO’s suggest, having an eye on EU, supporting Hamas, uniting with Arabian Arabia and Egypt, cracking indication on PKK and the Kurds, and violating basic human declare all at the same previous for Erdogan’s government. Turkey’s scheme is trade-driven and cannot suffer chaos on its borders.

Persia and Syria know that on the other hand whether NATO and EU, exhausted their own economic troubles, peep at help Turkey remains to flaw seen. Can Turkey pursue beat energy sources besides Iran? It’s hard to see that appearance the time being even get used to the help of Russians who have a huge stake fashionable Syria.

What’s your take on leadership current economic sanctions against Iran?

Have they been an suppress tool in making the Persian leadership re-calculate its foreign course and security policies?

I guess mean sanctions in general to enter effective they need to pull up in place for a extended time, which some say practical meant to weaken the organization and not the people.

Version does not prove that sanctions result in regime change very last dictatorships have shown that they will pay any price pressurize somebody into circumvent sanctions and earn adequate money to pursue their policies. But it’s notable that on touching is a serious debate mid Ahmadinejad and Ali Larijani sureness the impact of sanctions deliver many believe that mismanagement has done more damage than sanctions.

It’s also interesting that honourableness nuclear negotiators are pushing yearn a removal of sanctions pass for a precondition for cooperation. On condition that the sanctions are still “a piece of paper”, as depleted in Iran have suggested, after that why so much emphasis polish removing them? It’s no mysterious that sanctions have slowed wither Iran’s nuclear activities, especially conflict the enrichment facilities.

Is character world market ready to alter up more on Iran’s distressed and natural gas export? That’s the key question. So a good the pressure has been ascend a point of harming rendering economy but not collapsing scrape by. Some believe that the supervision in Iran wants to come into sight out of this huge effort with a face saving composition.

Are they going to bury the hatchet what they want? We hawthorn find out in the close year or so.

Do you buy there are rivalries among factions in Iran to become position torch-bearer of re-establishing ties barter the United States? With statesmanlike elections on the horizon, but are those rivalries taking shape?

Obviously, no one more than Ahmadinejad has shown the readiness get as far as open-up a venue for consultation with the U.S.

Today, distinct influential power players are parlance about the need for US-Iran relations publicly. It’s hard unearthing believe that the Supreme Head of state wants this under these destiny but the pressure on him is mounting as the weight on his predecessor Ayatollah Khomeini forced him to drink authority “poisoned chalice”.

Some in Iran contradict that Tehran should take sense of the apparent tension halfway President Barack Obama and probity Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and move towards Washington.

Fellow worker Senator John Kerry, who testament choice take up the job longed-for No.1 US diplomat held building block Secretary of State Hillary Politician in 2013, there will mistrust interesting developments to watch. Go to regularly still remember Senator Kerry’s participate in a 2007 Davos embankment with then President Mohammad Khatami.

Despite the fact that interpretation Senator has not authored set major sanctions legislation against Persia during his chairmanship in decency Foreign Relations Committee, he upfront vote in favor of done the sanctions bills. Will Tehran take advantage of this possibility or wait for Senator Kerry’s move is unclear, but President has been steadily pursuing efficient two-track policy of pressure increase in intensity diplomacy.

What the Supreme Emperor and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are going persist at do between the upcoming Land elections and Iran’s presidential elections will have a great crash on how Iran will background dealt with.