IranianWorld

Following the overwhelming reformist victory in Iran's parliamentary elections of February 2000, the Heinrich Boll Foundation, in cooperation with the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures), held the controversial conference "Iran after the Elections" in April of 2000. The conference was intended to encourage cultural and economic ties between Iranian reformers, Iranian exiles, and the general German public, as well as provide information on the status of Iran. Seventeen speakers were from Iranian reformists parties, both religious and secular. The Iranian press filmed the conference and broadcast it in Iran several weeks later, causing an uproar. The Berlin Conference came under attack by conservative elements who considered the proceedings defamation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. All of the Iranian speakers were prosecuted by Tehran officials on charges such as harming "national security," "propaganda a...

Historically located to the northwest of Iran and east of Turkey, Armenia has been the focus of many military campaigns due to its position as a passageway between Europe and Asia. Rarely masters of their own identity, Armenians have often been reduced to refugees. At such times they often fled into the Iranian-occupied area of Azerbaijan, settling in cities to the west of the Caspian Sea such as Tabriz. Under Safavid rule, Armenia and most of Transcaucasia would be united under Iranian control, posing a major threat to the Ottomans. The harsh climate and insufficient means of communications to Constantinople from Armenia allowed it to remain in Safavid hands until a peace agreement was signed in 1555 splitting Armenia into a western Ottoman portion and an eastern Iranian portion. During the struggle for territory, each side deported native Armenians into territories under their own control, replacing them with Kurdish populations and dis...