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Iran's Defecting Diplomats

(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - Farzad Farhangian, who spent 23 years in the Iranian diplomatic service, defected last week from his job as press attache at the Iranian embassy in Brussels, becoming the third veteran Iranian diplomat to publicly quit this year. His message today: "I want [the regime] to be overthrown." His colleague Hossein Alizadeh, who had worked for the Iranian foreign ministry for 21 years, left the post of second-in-command at the Iranian embassy in Helsinki. Their defections follow that of Mohammed Reza Heydari, who had served for 20 years in the foreign ministry until January, when he resigned as consul at Iran's embassy in Norway. All three men now openly support Iran's democratic opposition. Heydari has remained in Norway to run the Green Embassy Campaign, which speaks out on behalf of his nation's democratic dissidents. "We came from within the system, all three of us are war veterans," says Heydari. "There's also a lot of dissatisfaction within the Revolutionary Guard, the Intelligence Ministry and organizations like state TV and radio. There are a lot of people who are working undercover. It looks like they are working for the regime, but they are working for us - their heart is with the Green movement."
2010-09-24 09:37:09
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