Iran Doesn’t Deny the Holocaust, New Foreign Minister Says on Twitter

[Turborama]

Source: Time

Iran's new U.S.-educated Foreign Minister offers latest indication of rapprochement

By Noah Rayman Sept. 05, 2013

The Iranian Foreign Minister said on Twitter that Iran does not deny the Holocaust, distancing the government from the often belligerent stance of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mohammad Javad Zarif began tweeting Wednesday in English from an account, confirmed by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, as part of what appears to be a concerted Internet campaign by the new Iranian government to warm relations with the West, including Israel.

President Hassan Rouhani, who took office last month, is considered a moderate and contrasts with his hardline predecessor Ahmadinejad, who has referred to the Holocaust as a “myth.” On Wednesday, the Jewish New Year, Rouhani tweeted in English: “I wish all Jews, especially Iranian Jews, a blessed Rosh Hashanah,” using the Hebrew name for the holiday. The tweet included an image of a Jewish man praying at a Iranian synagogue.

The foreign minister’s statement on Thursday came in a back-and-forth on Twitter with Christine Pelosi, the daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, after he too wished Jews a happy New Year. The younger Pelosi, an author and activist, thanked the foreign minister and wrote: “The New Year would be even sweeter if you would end Iran’s Holocaust denial, sir.”

Zarif, who assumed office under Rouhani, was the Iranian ambassador to the U.N. from 2002 to ’07, and a key member in Tehran’s nuclear negotiation team before talks collapsed in 2003—on Thursday, he was given the nuclear portfolio once more. Zarif speaks fluent English, received a doctorate at the University of Denver, and his children were born in the U.S, TIME’s Ishaan Tharoor reports.



Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/09/05/iran-doesnt-deny-the-holocaust-new-foreign-minister-says-on-twitter/

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[shenmue]

1. A step forward

Thank goodness.

[JustAnotherGen]

2. Good for him

[Behind the Aegis]

3. A step in the right direction.

But what a "political" answer is "The man perceived to be denying it..." Yeah, it was all us crazies that just didn't understand him.

[jessie04]

4. Blah,Blah,Blah...Empty talk

Open up all the nuclear sites to the IAEA !!!

[Celefin]

8. Good strategy. Counter any attempt at thawing the frozen relations with instant provocation.

[jessie04]

10. Yeah, we wouldn't want to upset the man.

I micro-step and we're supposed to get all misty-eyed??

I don't think so.

[MADem]

5. He is on Facebook, too...which Iran blocks, ironically enough. nt

[geek tragedy]

6. I predict no one will challenge the accuracy of this translation, nt

[Jesus Malverde]

7. bump...nt

[Nye Bevan]

9. Hmmmm. OK. Now how about legalizing homosexuality?

LGBT rights in Iran since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 have come in conflict with the penal code, with international human rights groups claiming floggings and death sentences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals.

Homosexuality is a crime punishable by imprisonment, corporal punishment, or in some cases of sodomy, even execution of the accused is legal under the laws of this country's government.[1] Gay men have faced stricter enforcement actions under the law than lesbians.[2] Iran insists that it does not execute people for homosexuality, and those who have either committed rape, murder, or drug trafficking.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Iran