Director of National Museum of Iran dismissed

The Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) director has dismissed Azadeh Ardakani from her post as director of the National Museum of Iran (NMI). Ruhollah Ahmadzadeh immediately appointed Dariush Akbarzadeh as acting director the museum, the Persian service of CHN reported on Tuesday. Akbarzadeh is an expert at the Iranian National Museum. The dismissal of Ardakani was announced a day after Judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei confirmed the arrests of some CHTHO officials in connection with the conservatives’ struggle against the “deviant current”, a term used to refer to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaii and his entourage. The “deviant current” is allegedly trying to undermine the role of Iran’s influential clerics. Some Persian news websites announced last week that Ardakani had been arrested in her office. However, the CHTHO denied the report. Microbiology graduate Ardakani, who was the English tutor for Rahim-Mashaii and then CHTHO director Hamidreza Baqaii, was appointed director of the National Museum of Iran in February 2010. Her appointment was announced to her predecessor Mohammadreza Mehrandish, as he was driving to his office. In early July, Ahmadinejad said that he would strongly defend his allies in the cabinet if they are arrested under any charge, calling the cabinet a “red line”. This remark was made a few days after rumors arose that the Judiciary was planning to arrest some members of the “deviant current”. The president said, “The cabinet is a red line which, if crossed, I will be compelled to fulfill my legal obligation (in this regard); otherwise the country will suffer a loss.” Photo: From left to right, former National Museum of Iran director Azadeh Ardakani, Presidential Office Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaii, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and then CHTHO director Hamidreza Baqaii attend the unveiling ceremony of the Cyrus Cylinder at the NMI in Tehran on September 12, 2010. (Mehr/Majid Asgaripur)