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Iranian President Hasan Rouhani has given a vice-presidency post to a hardliner-turned-reformer who once served as a spokeswoman for the hostage-takers at the US Embassy after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, an adviser said Tuesday.
The selection of Masoomeh Ebtekar as vice-president for environmental affairs underscores how many staunch backers of the overthrow of Iran‘s Westernbacked monarchy more than 30 years ago now side with the moderates.
Their complaints include the belief that the ruling clerics have become too oriented toward battling the West and need to adopt more international outreach in a globalized world. Such figures as opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi—both under house arrests since early 2011—were strong supports of the Islamic Revolution before seeking to press for reforms.
Ebtekar, who is fluent in English from years living in the US as a school girl, was a main spokeswoman during the 444-day hostage standoff.
She was referred to as “Mary” by the foreign media and has made appearances on US television as a translator for the hostage takers, who held a total of 52 captives until January 1981. She was Iran’s first woman vice-president under reformist President Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005. AP
The selection of Masoomeh Ebtekar as vice-president for environmental affairs underscores how many staunch backers of the overthrow of Iran‘s Westernbacked monarchy more than 30 years ago now side with the moderates.
Their complaints include the belief that the ruling clerics have become too oriented toward battling the West and need to adopt more international outreach in a globalized world. Such figures as opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi—both under house arrests since early 2011—were strong supports of the Islamic Revolution before seeking to press for reforms.
Ebtekar, who is fluent in English from years living in the US as a school girl, was a main spokeswoman during the 444-day hostage standoff.
She was referred to as “Mary” by the foreign media and has made appearances on US television as a translator for the hostage takers, who held a total of 52 captives until January 1981. She was Iran’s first woman vice-president under reformist President Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005. AP
TEHRAN’S ‘MARY’: Masoomeh Ebtekar was one of the Iranian students who occupied the US embassy in Tehran in 1979
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