To: Editor, IPS-Inter Press Service International Association
Re: “Many Iranians Embrace Asylum as a Way Out”

Dear Sir/Madam,

As the article by your reporters does not even hint the fact, for your information and clarification, Iranians have been fleeing their country, in waves, since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979 and for nearly three decades.

The omission is understandable, for the fact could not imply that levels of migration from Iran have been dependent on factional rivalry within the Islamic Republic, while that is precisely what is conveyed to the readers by the authors of the article.

The authors attribute migration during the past months to the newly established “conservative government” of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Yet, migrating to another country is not a simple decision. It involves months of decision-making and preparation. Contrary to what your reporters claim, it is more than likely that those who left Iran on and after August 3, 2005 made their decision before that date. That is, before Ahmadinejad’s term began and during the “reformist” Mullah Khatami’s presidency.

Sincerely yours,

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