News

Throughout Iran's modern history, certain careers have always been extremely dangerous to pursue. Given that, except for brief periods, Iran has been run by one type of dictatorship or another, pursuing a career in politics has always been considered perilous. What my late father told me in 1972 summed up perfectly the political situation in that era, and it still applies. I had just graduated from high school and was going to take the national entrance examinations for the universities. I wanted to study political science -- even in high school, politics was my passion. My late father told me, "If you study political science and pursue higher degrees -- which I know you will -- you will either join the opposition or the government [of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]. Being a part of the opposition will land you in jail. Being part of the Shah's government will also eventually land you in jail, because this regime will someday be overthrown. Either way, you might even get killed. So forget about pursuing politics as a profession."