Kamran Najafzadeh (Persian: کامران نجف‌زاده) (also written as Kamran Najaf Zadeh) is an Iranian presenter who works for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.[1] He is known for founding IRIB 20:30 show.

Kamran Najafzadeh
Born
Kamran Najafzadeh

(1979-05-19) 19 May 1979 (age 45)
Tehran, Iran
EducationAgricultural engineering
Alma materIslamic Azad University of Karaj
Years active2002–present
ChildrenAmirkian Najafzadeh

Early life

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Kamran Najafzadeh was born on 19 May 1979 in Tehran’s Sattarkhan neighborhood.[citation needed] He is married and has one son. He has a bachelors degree in Genetic Engineering and a masters degree in Theater.

Career

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Prior to entering Iranian television, Kamran Najafzadeh was a journalist at a number of newspapers including Arman and Keyhan Sports.[2]

On 26 March 2011, Najafzadeh was expelled from France. While the French government never released a public statement about this event his hiring agency, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, claimed it was because: “the French Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs decided, during a meeting, that “the IRIBNews reporter had crossed the yellow line and stirred up hatred in public opinion French public”.[3][4]

Kamran Najafzadeh was the founder and first host of the IRIB 20:30 show. This show is being accused of producing and publishing forced confessions, misinformation campaigns, and propagating Islamic Republic propaganda, so that it’s staff are commonly called as interrogator-journalists.[5]

Only one day from the release of Jason Rezaian from the Evin Prison by Iranian authorities, on 16 January 2016, Najafzadeh's visa was issued by the United States government.[6] This raised speculation on a potential agreement behind the scene between the Iranian Government and Obama administration. Najafzadeh has a C2 single entry visa to the United States and can't move further than 25 miles from the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.[6]

Rape, Torture, and Murder of Taraneh Mousavi

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On 2009 and after the green movement a story of a young woman being captured, raped and, tortured shocked the country. These news were later confirmed by one of the opposition leaders, that the head of IGRC information organization, Mr. Hossein Taeb, raped and killed Ms. Taraneh Mousavi in custody.[7]

To fight the widely spread news, Mr. Najafzadeh produced and aired a program in which he claimed there were only three people with that name being registered in civil registry records in Iran and Taraneh Mousavi is a fictional characters. Mr Najafzadeh’s claims strongly refuted a few days later by finding at least two other famous Iranians with the same name [8]

Relationships with Shia Militia

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In addition to airing the misinformation campaign for Mr. Hossein Taeb, the head of IGRC information organization, Najaf Zadeh has close relationships with other Shia Militia figures. In a rare media appearance of Qasem Soleimani, the deceased head of IGRC Quds Force, Kamran Najafzadeh was the host.[9] This meeting was later canceled due to the security concerns. Right after the death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general Qasem Soleimani, Najafzadeh published a few posts in his support.[10]

Moreover, he is the only foreign correspondence who ever interviews Hassan Nasrallah, a Lebanese cleric and Secretary-General of Hezbollah[11] Hezbollah is recognized as a terrorist organization in the United States, and European Union.[12]

Reactions to interviews

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He did a short one-liner interview with Lionel Messi during the time he was in France.[13] He was registered as a candidate for Iran’s parliament.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Profil Kamran Najafzadeh - IAPP". www.ia-pp.com. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  2. ^ "I have come many times to the edge of the precipice and God has kept me/". meliyat. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  3. ^ "France and freedom of expression". IRIB. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Najafzadeh, the star of the 20:30 news program, was expelled from France". Radio Farda.
  5. ^ "بازجو-خبرنگاران صداوسیما؛ از اسماعیل تا آمنه‌سادات". رادیو فردا (in Persian). Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Kamran Najafzadeh went to America". Asre Iran. 18 January 2016. Archived from the original on 11 February 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Rape and killing of Taraneh Mousavi".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Kamran Najafzadeh Misinformation Campaign about Rape and Killing of Taraneh Mousavi". Retrieved 22 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "Major General Qassem Soleimani goes to Shahid Beheshti University". Major General Qassem Soleimani goes to Shahid Beheshti University. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Kamran Najafzadeh's story about the martyrdom of Sardar Soleimani". Sedaghat News. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Kamran Najafzadeh's interview with Seyed Hassan Nasrallah - Beirut". Shia TV. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  12. ^ Kanter, James; Rudoren, Jodi (22 July 2013). "European Union Adds Military Wing of Hezbollah to List of Terrorist Organizations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Najafzadeh's recollection of his interview with Lionel Messi". farsnews.com. Retrieved 8 December 2013.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Kamran Najafzadeh's entry in the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections". bultannews.com. Retrieved 25 December 2011.