February 21-2014
The Foreign Ministry says about 5 percent of Iranian expatriates will be arrested for crimes upon their arrival at Iranian airports.
It is the first time the government has revealed how many emigres are wanted by the Islamic regime.
Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi said a few weeks ago that the government was compiling a list of all those wanted and would be happy to tell anyone who inquired if they were on the list or free to visit.
He told the state new agency that 95 percent of the Iranians living abroad have no problems with the state and are free to visit.
While he did not explain how that figure was calculated, it presumably includes all those young people who were born abroad of Iranian parents and are rated as Iranian expatriates by the Iranian state.
But the number has to be considered very soft since the government doesn’t really know how many people have left Iran and now live abroad. Nobody does.
In the United States, the 2010 Census found 289,465 Iranians, while the 2000 Census found 338,266 and the 1990 Census located 220,774. None of those numbers is anywhere near the 1 million figure that Iranian-Americans commonly tout as the size of their community.
The Census counts everyone who claims Iranian ethnicity. The Census covers everyone physically present in the United States so that the number includes citizens, Green Card holders, students, visitors—even illegals, although they usually hide from Census takers.
Qashqavi condemned what he termed the false propaganda of opposition groups and radio stations that he said have been spreading fear among expatriates who wish to visit Iran.
At this point, two Iranian-Americans are imprisoned in Iran. One is Saeed Abedini, who was born in Iran and converted to Christianity. The other is Amir Hekmati, who was born in Arizona and arrested as a spy on his first visit to Iran.