Iranian of the Day

Fly, thank you but ...

I must remind you this is what you are doing yourself, making such huge generalisations about "Iranians" do this and do that!!! :)  Anyway, this simplistic, 'black and white' way of relating to the world is not specific to Iranians, although has a high concentration on this website, where the reactions of SOME  are almost predictable like day and night!!... and, again this form of relating is not exclusive to its Iranian contributors as clearly evident both on this thread and elsewhere.  

But thank you for your post, I agree with many points you are making in relation to the need for critical assessment of events, respect for credible and unbiased evidence and some humility that one may not be in possession of all the facts!!

The Fly: A Breath of Fresh Air

...Saberi must be an "innocent angel" because her accusers are the IRI.
Forgotten is the historical record of American and British press
proudly and loudly spying for the US government, often in order to tank democratically elected governments who were not willing to wholesale
their countries to the American and British corporate interests.

When we think of our history, we think of it as some ancient events which might have happened thousands of years ago. Our ancient history seems more relevant.  We forget about our recent history where as we all know, a democratically elected government was overthrown by a coup which was orchestrated by the US and British governments. And who where the culprits. The same news organizations that Ms Saberi worked for. Does that make her spy? I don't know. I have not seen the evidence.

I'm pretty sure there are a LOT of Iranians out there who are not so opinionated to dismiss every move that IRI makes. But unfortunatey they have no voice in this iranian.com 

Therefore it is her own fault

as PolakMaly found the sources and todays BBC Persian reported, Roxana Saberi continued with her work as journalist after her licence was revoked. It is also in western countries illegal and why not in Iran? As I wrote she is not so fault-free and a little guilty.

Bargening Cheap

Oh, come come people. Just get hold of you emotions.
I think by now every body even the birds in sky know that the charges brought against this poor young woman were damn lies and fabrications, even by IRI’s standards

Now the only remaining question is: WHY

The fact of the matter is that many factions within IRI would like very much to deal and negotiate with US and in fact Obama’s New Year message has put the ball squarely in the IRI’s court. They know that sooner or later they need to give some sore of response back and to prevent further international isolation they need start some kind of negotiation with the Obama administration, if they are to be believed on their seriousness about peace.
Now entities like Roxana in a small scale or uranium enrichment in and Iraq insurgency in a large scale, would serve as a very good bargaining cheep for the IRI and their dealing with U.S. For example if U.S want Roxana Back they also need to return Iranian detainees in Iraq. Or if they want the insurgency in Iraq to end then they have to close Ashraf camp and surrender all the residents to IRI’s death camps (Evin rajaee Shahr, Ghezel Hesaar ….) or if they want Israel to be left in peace to deal with its neighbours and some one control Hamas or Hezbollah they have to accept a nuclear IRI. Remember the old saying of

doshman natavaan haghir o bichaare shemord

I know these are very cruel and inhumane ways. But we need to face the fact and understand the nature of the beast (IRI) we are dealing with and take it for the monster it is. Also in the end those who push for US negotiation with IRI from within America (IRI lobbies or people within US administration) should also realise that in dealing with the devil there are no winners

Dear "The Fly",

Great comment, I agree with you completely ... except "thin veneer of so-called democracy" concerning UK ;)

OK, that’s it for me. I

OK, that’s it for me. I think I’m finished with all investigations of this young lady. I conclude that she in fact is a credible journalist, although her subject matter and how she approaches it raises some eyebrows. Her reporting is very analytical and provocative, but seems to offer little in terms of nonviolent approaches and alternative conflict resolutions. There is some mention of equal rights for women and things such as the need for education in Iran. But her overwhelming focus is on Iran’s government and Iran’s strategic options. With her ambitions, I wouldn’t be surprised if she attempted to reform Iran and run for political office. The other question is how far she would go in yielding to Washington’s and/or British demands. We all know that Iran has a long history in dealing with Washington and Britain in it’s pre-Islamic revolution years. She has been playing with fire. Hopefully that fire can still be extinguished, for her sake, the Iranian people’s, and the rest of us around the world. Peace!

More

More Articles:
//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4886678.stm
//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6183331.st...
//nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_pro...
//www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-4...
//www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-...
//nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_pro...

Peer review of Miss

Peer review of Miss Saberi’s:

Saturday, November 10, 2007
Junior Scholastic: PC indoctrination for the middle school set
By Mona Charen

…my sixth-grader drew my attention to his homework assignment. He was to read an article about Iran in Junior Scholastic magazine and answer questions about it. …

The Oct. 1, 2007, issue featured a cover story titled “Iran: The Other Side of the World?” The piece begins by introducing Mohammad Reza Moqaddam, a 15-year-old resident of Qom, who “speaks quietly and respectfully” and prays five times a day. “A lot of young people these days have distanced themselves from religion,” he relates. “I would like them to be much closer to it.” Mohammad pays close attention to the news though, and offers the view that “Even if Iran wants nuclear weapons, it’s none of the other countries’ business. Some of them have nuclear weapons themselves.”

OK, so when do we get to the part where it is explained that even if young Mohammad wants a neutral take on the news, he cannot get it in Iran where the press is rigidly controlled by the regime? Nowhere. Where does it explain that Iran is the world’s fourth-largest oil supplier and therefore scarcely in need of “peaceful nuclear power”? You won’t find that either.

The article (written by Roxana Saberi, a reporter for National Public Radio) explains that Iran has been “at odds” with America since the revolution of 1979, which forced out the “U.S.-backed Shah” and brought to power a government “based on strict Islamic principles.” But she doesn’t mention that Ayatollah Khomeini and his mobs denounced the United States as the “great Satan” and chanted “Death to America.” The hostage crisis, in which armed militants, possibly including the current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, held 52 American diplomats for 444 days, goes unmentioned until a glancing reference at the end of the article under Iranian history.

Omitting the nature of the revolution and vehement America hatred of its leaders, the article then instructs students that “the war in Iraq has further increased those tensions” because the U.S. commanders “claim” that Iran is supporting militias but the Iranian defense minister has labeled these accusations a “sheer lie.”

There’s much more along these lines. “Some members of the Bush Administration want to take military action against Iran.” But nary a word on Ahmadinejad’s threat to annihilate Israel or to see a world “without the United States.” Nor is there any mention of the thousands of casualties of the revolution, the public stonings or the virtue police. We meet more Iranian youngsters who defend their regime: “The U.S. thinks we are dangerous. Why shouldn’t we think the U.S. is dangerous?” asks a pretty, scarf-clad 13-year-old. Tania “is devoted to her country. Her wish for her people is that they become wise and well-educated.” She “hopes to help” her nation someday “by becoming a lawyer.”

We get the point. Only xenophobes would find this country hostile or frightening. The more we get together the happier we’ll be.

I’m not urging that Junior Scholastic gird our kids for war with Iran. But this happy patter is insipid and unworthy of them.

//www.heraldnet.com/article/20071110/OPINION0...

Here it comes: I am

Here it comes: I am establishing Miss Saberi’s credebility

Google pages with links to her articles (2003-2007)

* //news.google.com/archivesearch?q=roxana+sabe...
* //news.google.com/archivesearch?q=roxana+sabe...
* //news.google.com/archivesearch?q=roxana+sabe...
* //news.google.com/archivesearch?q=roxana+sabe...

Example of Several Articles:
//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/66382...
//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4911178.stm
//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5199184.stm
//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4837558.stm
//news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/5235732.st...

Other Sources:
//www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-...
//www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-...

Pretty much about Iranian Nukes, Missiles, Military, and Politics

That was easy once I finally figured it out, lol….

Hi PS I, I posted links to

Hi PS I, I posted links to Delara's info today and many pages and blogs about Roxana. P.S. Funny thing is her main page with a letter of appeal from her mother refused to allow me to post the call to help Delora today (//freeroxanasaberi.webs.com/apps/guestbook/). In fact, I've been trying to turn Roxana's misfortune into an awakening call for the world to see, as I posted in my earlier comment, that Miss Saberi is not the first and the last victim of state sponsored terrorism. There are many young men and women in her shoes or worse around the world and nobody give a damn about them (I apologize for the language). I believe this is the time to unite worldwide, stand up, and bring awareness for all victims of state sponsored oppression, coercion, and terrorism. My vigilance will remain with Delara, Roxana, and all the other victims of this injustice.

I think the time has come to

I think the time has come to put away all the big toys and big guns, move away from Big Government and Centralized Power, end all forms of torture and state coercion, and work towards building a decentralized, respectful, and tolerant world. Miss Saberi is not the first and the last victim of state sponsored terrorism. There are many young men and women in her shoes or worse around the world and nobody give a damn about them (I apologize for the language). My point was not to discredit Miss Saberi or accuse her of anything. I spend a considerable time trying to establish Miss Saberi’s credentials and really I’ve never heard of her. I don’t believe anything I hear in the media and always try to do my research before establishing any opinions. I would appreciate if anyone can enlighten us all and post links here to help establishing Miss Saberi’s credentials, journalism, work, etc…. I dread that this young lady has to go through what she does and hope she puts this nightmare behind her soon.

PS I

thank very much those who helped Delara today.

And those who didn't really didn't care much if she lived or died because you're the greaqt strategists. So here's a little advice on strategy.

Roxana covers many bases in the great game between her Daddi-o and Horrorwood but the game's the exact same one. And its geopolitcal bargaining chip is human rights. They're not just playing the movie to terrorize their own population with all the purges in Iran. It's that too, to remind the people that no matter who wins Khameini will be there. But it's all just as much for Hillary and O. ALL OF IT. To remind them too.

The Iranian Syndrome!

We Iranians, suffer from a very acute and malignant ailment. There is no name for it, but the tendency is there. Almost always, we toss the baby with the bath water, and inversely, drink up the dirty bath water while cradling the baby. To us it's a zero-sum game 24/7! And until we cure ourselves of this, we'll be in the same puddle of feces that we find ourselves in right now.

When it comes to IRI, it's zero sum. Hence, anything and everything they say is wrong. IRI supports Palestinians!? Then the Palestinians are just Arab savages. IRI accuses person X of crime Y!? It must be wrong. It's sad and funny at the same time. I think Ahmadinejad and Khamenei should blare for a month that the sky is blue. I guarantee that you'll see posts on here about how the sky cannot be blue! Toss out the babe with the dirty water!!!

On the other hand, US and UK have a tract record of deception and destruction and filthy treatment of humanity (including Iranians) longer and thicker than IRI. But because of the thin veneer of so-called democracy, everything they claim must be right. Drink up the dirty bath water, while cradling the babe!

Why such extremes? Is it not possible for a thief to blurb a morsel of truth? Or for a saint to commit one infraction? We, Iranians, are crazy!!! And the expat, monarchist crowd that are often on Iranian.com make a singular example of how extreme we can be. They'll ignore everything: the spying, the torture, the illegal wars of aggression, the staged coups, you name it! They're blind to it all and all they can say is how the IRI has the blood of Iranians on its hands, which is very true, by the way. But what about the blood on the US/UK governments' hands!? They will scream till kingdom come about the undemocratic and inhumane behavior of IRI, which is true again. But do they really want democracy and human rights!? Well, they do, only within the limits that such concepts have been in every other tin pot dictatorship that US/UK have backed.

On the one hand, just because Saberi's credentials don't add up and she works for questionable outfits, then she must be an spy! Out goes the babe with the dirty water! What happened to reason and logic!? Why can't we condemn the IRI for its treatment of her, and in the same sentence criticize her choice of employer. She may be a spy, but she has not been given due process as she deserves it.

On the other hand, Saberi must be an "innocent angel" because her accusers are the IRI. Forgotten is the historical record of American and British press proudly and loudly spying for the US government, often in order to tank democratically elected governments who were not willing to wholesale their countries to the American and British corporate interests. Forgotten is the very recent active role of American and British press as propaganda organs to sell and illegal and disastrous war, which has even harmed both US and UK. Where the hell is your support for the Western democracies!? We lap up the dirty water as eagerly as we can while cradling the little baby!

Every time that Christian Amanpour (or one of the other house slaves) is mentioned, the Iranians go berserk in adulation. If we want to fix these issues, if we want to prevent more Saberis ending up on the henchman's table in IRI, we should adopt an attitude that condemns cooperation with news outfits, which have a record of not having an honest attitude toward reporting, especially when it comes to our homeland. We should shame the Amanpours and the Saberis for working for a these networks.

I'm only glad that some Iranians have pointed out the obvious. That the IRI has treated her in the same exact manner that the US and UK treat individuals that they think are suspect. Had Saberi been reporting for IRNA and had a few connections to some charities working in Iran, the first chance that the US government would get, she would end up in the same predicament that she is in, in the same exact manner that she has gotten there. And the truth is that the US, UK, and IRI governments must be shamed and condemned for this behavior, and Saberi should be condemned for working for media outlets that help to brush it under the rug!

Some of you people just don't get it.about Roxana

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHETHER ROXANA IS INNOCENT OR GUILTY. IT IS IRRELEBANT. IT WOULD NOT MATTER WHETHER SHE WERE GOEBBELS OR MOTHER THERESA. SHE IS A BARGAINING CHIP AND IRI WOULD'VE FOUND HER INNOCENT ORGUILTY AND DETERMINED THE SENTENCE ACCORDING TO WHAT THEY WANTED IN THE NEW GREAT GAME.

She is a hostage. That's all. She is ONE UNiQUELY STRATEGICALY VALUABLE HOSTAGE.

 Nut she's ALSO part and parcel of one great movie being shot and shown in Horrorwood IRI over weeks. And this movie has stars up for Academy Awards. Beutiful talented young actors. Roxana and Delara are up for the Oscars. So is the young handsome blogger. His performance was death. He had to die because blogging is the central nerve without which no activism can exist. And so you see the whole human rights issue is being used as a chip in the new great game. The move is: you will have to give up a LOT if you want to touch human rights and if you don't believe it, guess what, we have Roxana for eight years, just like you may have Obama...

it is no longer possible for internal human rights and geopolitics to be the central political rift among the expat community. That's obsolete. And anyone who thinks they can scream Israel ONLY this time and ignore human rights must remember Roxana.

So what does the rest of the movie consist of? let's see...carefully orchetrated scenes of lawyers, Bahai, labor leaders, the million sig activists, Sufis, the dead martyrs of Akhavan, students-eight still in Evin, almost no contact with the outside world--tthe trial of the Seven Bahai (and one Christain for good measure)==even the doctors, AIDS doctors, the MOST necessary doctors--just to prove how far they're WillinG to go. But that was just a little tap, a little warning==they were acquitted quickly. And just now even the pornographers. did I miss anyone? And this past week it's been exciting, the movie. There've been the Bahai that was supposed to be released and wasn't and the 26 pornographers, together co-starring with Roxana and Delara. So you see Roxana and Delara are sisters.

But the diference between the two is that Roxana won't get so much as a paper cut in prison anytime soon. She has Mama Hillary and Daddi-o watching out for her. But today was the elventh hour and none could watch over Delara, she had no one but us. Roxana could've waited til tomorrow.

And I bet Roxana eats well in prison and I bet if she wants to paint she can too. Delara was called the Prisoner of Colors because of all her amazing paintings. So they took away her paints and when she tried to scratch drawings on the wall they moved her to solitary where she slit her wrists. A couple of years ago. And she's never painted again.

In my personal opinion Roxana could've waited til tomorrow. Today was Delara's day.

But that's just my opinion.

.

Bombs fall? And how many

Bombs fall? And how many innocent Iranian men, women, and children will loose their lives. Be more realistic. Pressure through NGO's sounds much more rational.

Gol-Dust...

I don't agree with Gol-Dust very often, but I have to agree with him in here. I only went back to Iran in 1998-1999 (after a 20 year absence) because of a death in my family and I have not been back there since and have not had the desire to go back for any reason ever since.

During my "visit" I was once stopped by a security personel near Vanak Square (Vali Nasr Street?) because I was (innocently) on foot and taking video of some building, one which happened to be the Iranian Petrochemical Co building. I was ushered into the same building for questioning by a "Haj Agha" and after one hour when they were truly convinced that I was just a mere pleb who truly was a nobody, they let me go with a stern warning and the confiscation of my film cassette (true story).

After that incident, I said to myself: "F*ck this sh*t" and I will never set foot back in that place, as long as I don't ever have too. Miss Saberi obviously had the kind of "balls" and the passion which I clearly lack about IRI ;-)

internets... the rest...

As for your speculation that she did something wrong, I cannot swear that she did not, but neither can you swear that she did; that is why in a civil society (which IRI is NOT), one is considered innocent until proven guilty, and the only way to prove her guilt is in an open court with she confronting evidence against her. According to her father, who spoke today from iran, her court proceedings took 15 minutes without her lawyer being present. Do you really think that in 15 minutes one can be proven guilty of a serious charge and the judgment rendered so easily without anyone (lawyer, relatives, media) having any idea of what the charge really was?

To the Beautiful good for everything Mort Gilani...

Just in case you and Roxana's mother had been living under a frigging huge rock for the past (almost) 8 years, our own bastion of everything human rights related and the champion of all mankind, aka the "shining City on a Hill", i.e, the honorable United States of America has been treating many people who we consider as human being, totally like cr*p.

But I suppose, "what is good for the goose is not good for the gander".

Signed: an Ugly Eyeranian (ex-pat of course). LOL.

internets...

You are right on differences b/w US and IRI laws; I did not mean to say that IRI is the same as US -- they are the same only as far as father's citizenship is concerned.

IRI: citizenship is inherited from father ONLY (but NOT mother).

US: citizenship inherited from either parent OR place of birth (US).

70

Awesome. Googoosh. 70s Iran rocked. Still does.

To all ugly good-for-nothing Iranians

who are implying Roxana is at fault.  I add my voice to Roxana's mother when she says

"hard to believe how a country could treat a human being like this."

Shame on Islamists!

How did we end up w/ IRI? Our families revolted 4 this crap?

How these evils hijacked our revolution? Amazing!

The saberi thing, it is too involved! I go home every few years for a few weeks and I am not sure if I could return, and she goes there to write a book about IRI!!!Hum!!!! She lasted very long! The girl got guts and japanese determination!

Americans for a Democratic

Americans for a Democratic Republic in Iran.

Contact Human Rights Watch at:

//www.hrw.org/en/contact-us#NewYork

Contact Amnesty International:

//www.amnestyusa.org/contact-us/page.do?id=10...

Contact the United Nations:

//www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/ContactUs.as...

Ms. Saberi is an American.

Let us fight for her.  Write to get her released.

Iran has broken all civil rights laws since the creation of the United States in 1776.  

We must fight the barbaric history of Civil Rights and Human Rights violations by the Iranian system of justice.

I have seen the movie "300", "Not Without my Daughter", "On the Wings of Eagles".  Iran's Human Rights violations span more than 3000 years.

Iran must and will have to be forced to stop acting barbaric.

We will free our fellow American citizen Ms. Saberi.

I am willing to go be drafted to free Ms. Saberi as a Special Forces soldier in the U.S. military.

If we need to invade Iran to free Ms. Saberi, an American citizen, so be it.

Let the bombs fall where they may.

I am proud to be an American!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E&feature...

AnonymousS...

Thank you for a civilized and lucid presentation on matters of IRI citizenship laws.

First of all, let me correct you by saying that the U.S. citizenship laws are not just limited to the father of the child, but the U.S. laws have the exact same benefit of citizenship (to a child born outside of the U.S) if the mother of the child was to be the only American citizen in that equation. Therefore, we again witness the inequality of men and women, as far as IRI laws are concerned, but that is a subject matter for another discussion :-)

Yes, I am well aware of children who are born into families consisting of either an Iranian father or an Iranian mother (but most typically the former), who become very curious about their "father land" and yearn to become familiar with the "land of their father" in a tangible fashion by way of travelling to that land. Usually these types of children are in their late teens or early 20s and they tend to not gel and jive very well within their own Western culture and habitat/environment.

Of course it is easy to understand as to why the IRI has special programs for these kind of people as it serves many self-promoted interests of IRI.Personally speaking, I am sitting on the fence regarding Miss Saberi. I believe that there is no smoke without fire and Miss Saberi's own (perhaps) gullibility and/or stubbornness finally got her into the jam which she finds herself in. Of course one does not condone (in any shape or form) the way in which the IRI handles herself judicially (among many other ways in which the IRI behaves), but I must insist that one can not simply sit behind a computer and totally sympathize with Miss Saberi, without delving into the points which many have raised about her life in Iran for the past 6 years. Let me remind you all that 9/11 merely happened less than 8 years ago and than many of the young people who got emotionally charged over 9/11 had volunteered to help the U.S. by way of joining the armed forces or the intelligence services. Miss Saberi's fascination with working and living in Iran seems to have an interesting timeline, as far as I am concerned.

internets... more...

For sake fo completeness, I should add that IRI laws consider citizenship to be inherited through one's father (husband as well), NOT mother nor place of birth nor genetics. See visa/passport info on iranian embassy or interest section sites to confirm.

Maybe you consider her not iranian enough because genetically she is not pure iranian (whatever it means), but that is not the IRI law. Besides, genetics is rather confusing for iranians as a good portion of our population are of mixed race, for example, Azaris genetically are of mixed genes as she is. Iranians have had several millenniums to be assaulted by all races to incorporate all sorts of genes, including turkic and Mongol genes which are more closely related to Chinese and Japanese races than aryan race.

Your argument does not pan out geographically either. IRI law does not consider citizenship based on place of birth. A child born to american parents in iran is NOT considered an iranian, while a child born in Siberia to an iranian "father" IS considered iranian. Geographically-based citizenship ended with the reign of reza shah, whose government issued iranian ID (and thus citizenship) to whoever was born in iran -- that was how khomeini the devil got his iranian ID and citizenship even though he was of Indian descent (the cheat actually got 3 different ID's with 3 slightly different names in 3 different cities).

So there was no naturalization of any sort involved. By IRI law she is as iranian as any other iranian by birth; and by genetics she is as iranian as, say, our azari or khuzestani arab citizens are even though (yes) she is freshly genetically half of iranian decent (whatever it means). And THUS iran is her country and she can go and stay there as she pleases BY IRI laws.

So, what's your point?

So, what's your point?

internests

What are you talking about? Are you talking about legally or morally?

Legally, any iranian born to an iranian father anywhere in the world is considered an iranian based on IRI laws and MUST receive iranian ID and travel with iranian passport unless (s)he asks her/his iranian citizenship (just like ANY other iranian) revoked. All the next generation iranians (with or without iranian mother) are in the same situation. BTW, US has the same law, that is why we run into dual citizenship issue. On the other hand, according to IRI laws, children of an iranian mother and a non-iranian father are NOT iranian and cannot assume iranian citizenship. They MUST receive visa to travel to iran.

Morally, I know a lot of children born to iranian fathers (with or without iranian mothers) who LOVE iran more than a lot of iran-born iranians. Iran is the land of their fathers and a mysterious place. They go there to learn the language and are endeared by their relatives there. I personally know quite a few that look western and go to iran and stay for years; there are classes in iran for such people to learn the language and even merge with the educational system in iran. Some earn money by writing about iran from there, and some by whatever way they can, like teaching english there. Even the IRI government has provisions for accepting such people since there are so many of them. I also know iranians who have moved to iran after some 20 or 30 years of being away with their family. One cannot divide next generation iranians based on what YOU (or I) thinks; it has to be based on laws (of IRI/US) or based on how each individual feels in her/his heart. And both are telling us that she is as iranian as anyone else -- except for being born outside iran to a mother that she did not choose!

The problem is that such people feel that iran is their country and soon develop a false sense of security there. Saberi has either said something in her reports that IRI did not like or she is being used as a bargaining chip. IRI style is not to tolerate any dissent, ANY negative voice whatsoever, intentional or non-intentional (as her case may be), and teach others a lesson in consequences of dissent in IRI. Let me be the first to speculate that she has done NOTHING illegal, and we'll see how things will turn out.

If IRI could identify each of the people who post on this site with negative comments about IRI, they will treat us far worse if traveled to iran. Does that mean that we are all spies or just dislike the islamic republic?

Obama says U.S. journalist

Obama says U.S. journalist in Iran is no spy

//www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/19/roxana-sa...

Saberi is a young ambitious

Saberi is a young ambitious girl who wanted to move up the ladder of success using Iran as a springboard, in her field (writer/journalist) by publishing her book about Iran and perhaps make a lot of money or work in a think tank with hefty salary. That is her only crime.

AnonymousX...

"Iran is her country, she does not need a
reason to be there, and she is not obligated to explain why she was
living there and for what. She was there for the same reason that 70
million others are there."

Au contraire!. It is you who misunderstands!. 

Miss Roxana (sp?) Saberi was NOT born as an Iranian. I repeat: SHE IS NOT AN IRANIAN BY BIRTH!. Her Bio clearly states that she was born in North Dakota to an Irania-American father and a Japanese mother. She may have obtained an Iranian passport and birth certificate vis a vis some sort of naturalization process (being of an Iranian born father), but this does not make her a "native".

Personally speaking (and I was born in Iran) all the gold in the world would not convince me (OK, a big exaggeration, but I think that you will get the message) to go back and live in Iran after having lived in the West since 1978 (pre-IRI).Her roots are not from Iran and your reasoning as to why she "selected" to live there "just like the other 70 Mil people" is frankly speaking, "a very lame" logic ;-)