Israel, Iran-Hezbollah Threat Heightened

My June 26, 2017 Interview with Seth Frentzman, opinion editor of The Jerusalem Post: In an exclusive interview with Radio Farda via Skype, Mr Frentzman said he believes the new threat by Nasrallah has been taken very seriously in Jerusalem.

Life and Times of Late Princess Ashraf Pahlavi of Iran in 15 Minutes

A MUST WATCH on the life and times of Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, twin sister of the last King of Iran, who passed away on 7 January 2016

Princess Ashraf Pahlavi of Iran (English version) from Deb Bergeron on Vimeo.

Canto Alla Vita

It has been over ten years now that this song by Josh Groban and Andrea Corr has not seized to mesmerise me for even one single day: Canto Alla Vita (I sing to life)

Enjoy the magic!

Swimming for Seiko

This is Seiko whom I met a few days ago somewhere in London. Seiko was accompanied by her human who had a field of vision of only 20 per cent due to a rare condition.
I asked the owner, Mark, to allow me to take a few portraits of his gorgeous canine friend and he kindly accepted.
He told me that Seiko was helping him get around and the two of them were so good together that he actually decided to raise money for guide dogs pledging to swim a mile in one go.
Here is a link to Mark's page and below you can see one of the portraits I took of Mark's little angel, Seiko.

Seiko, the guide dog

My interview with Dr. Sadegh Zibakalam in the latest issue of "Khat-e Solh"

Khat-e Solh Monthly [Persian], number 28 featuring my interview with Dr. Sadegh Zibakalam

You can download your free copy here

Visit to Israel Gets Filmmaker “Cleansed” from Iran's Cinema Museum

Screen capture from the first page of Global Voices website ( as of 23.July.2013)

Here is a piece I wrote on the Iranian film maker, Mohsen Makhbaf's recent participation in Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF) that started a heated debate among Iranians. 

NOTE: Although, journalistically, I tried to give voice to both sides of the conversation in the abovementioned report, personally I was among the proponents of a dialogue between the civil societies of both nations in which capacity I see Makhmalbaf's trip as a constructive measure.

Here is a debate [fa] between Nargess Tavassolian who supported Makhmalbaf's participation in JFF  with Sadra Shahab, who signed the open letter criticising the director:

 And this is Nargess's blog post expressing her views about the same subject.

Worth a Thousand Words...

A young Iranian wiping the explosion mark of a hand-made grenade off the mausoleum of Cyrus the Great near Shiraz, Iran. CLICK TO SEE THE FULL SIZED IMAGE

I used to believe in a fierce version of Persian Nationalism, some years passed by before I learned the difference between patriotism and nationalism; hence decided to choose the former as a personal principle. Today, however, I am best described as a humanist patriot. I have no idea what I will grow into tomorrow! 

With that introduction, I would like to share a photo I found on a Facebook page named after a man many of us consider a national hero, Cyrus the Great. 

The dramatic photo depicts a young Iranian using what seems to be his shirt to wipe the explosion mark of a hand-made grenade off the mausoleum of Cyrus the Great near Shiraz, Iran. According to some accounts posted on social media, a group of by-standers described as resembling members of Basij militia had been taunting people who had gathered to celebrate Nowrooz near the resting place of a man they call "The Father of Iran".

I see this in essence as what is upon us as a nation, to wipe off the dirt that has tainted the face of our collective identity, culture and civilisation. We need to reclaim our place in the international arena as a respected people and definitely not as what is represented in our name today. 

Here is footage of the incident posted by citizen journalists on Youtube.