Iran right blasts MP for son with U.S. ambitions

TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Iranian conservatives called for a reformist MP to be expelled from parliament on Wednesday for saying his son wanted to move to the United States.

"I have a 12-year-old son who for the last two years has been insisting that we go and live in America," former film director, turned politician Behrooz Afkhami told parliament on Tuesday.

The son had bemoaned his father becoming an MP in February polls since that meant the family would have to stay in Iran for another four years, Afkhami told shocked colleagues.

MESSAGE BOARD Share your thoughts on reforms in Iran     ALSO Iran budget extends reach over religious bodies

"I tried to ignore it and see it as a joke, but gradually I found out that all my children agree."

The conservative press, for whom Washington is the "Great Satan," saw red.

"MPs know what they have to do," roared the hardline Jumhuri- ye Eslami in an editorial. "Expel this misfit agent from the nation's parliament."

The United States cut ties with Iran in 1980 after Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Washington says Tehran sponsors terrorism while Iran accuses the United States of "global arrogance."

Afkhami said he used the example of his son to argue not enough was being done in the Islamic Republic to encourage films and entertainment for the young and stem the demand to emigrate to the West.

Conservatives said it showed he was not fit to bring up a 12-year-old.

"What his son says is due to the information he has received at home from his parents," Jomhuri-ye Eslami said.

"If Afkhami does not know that America is the enemy of the Iranian nation and that praising the enemy in the nation's parliament is against the people's ideals and the country's interests, he lacks the main prerequisite to be an MP."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Iran expects improvement of relations with U.S.
December 7, 2000
Iran's Khatami slams hardliners
December 6, 2000
Iran mulls stricter rules for American visitors
November 29, 2000
Iran's oversight body approves new anti-U.S. law
November 2, 2000
Iran's moderate president faces wrath of hard-liners
October 25, 2000
U.S., Iran to make diplomatic contact
September 15, 2000
Iran reformers urge U.S. to review policy
September 14, 2000
Iran poll shows strong support for U.S. ties
September 12, 2000
Iran's Khatami: U.S. should alter its behavior toward Iran
September 9, 2000
Iran's Khatami says 'serious issues' hamper U.S-Iran meetings
September 7, 2000
Iran's top lawmaker says efforts under way to lift U.S. sanctions
September 3, 2000
Iran missile test worries U.S., Israel
July 15, 2000

Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
Democracy Network of Iran
Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran
Amnesty International 1999 Report for Iran
Human Rights Watch 1999 Report for Iran

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.