17 AUGUST 2002, Page 24

Stereotyping Iran

From Mr Majid Ghahremani Sir: I was distressed to see, in a prominent magazine such as The Spectator, Mark Steyn CA war for civilisation', 10 August) assailing the Islamic republic of Iran in an irrational way.

In this article certain outdated and baseless allegations are raised against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Despite all the efforts by Iran to relax regional tension, and the initiative of President Khatami in launching a widely received global project for dialogue among civilisations, we still see Mr Steyn proclaiming a clash of civilisations and reinforcing a negative stereotype of my country and its people.

It is also surprising that the article, based on a shallow acquaintance with Iranian society, takes no notice of the role of young people in the recent victory of President Khatami, who received close to 22 million —77 per cent — of votes in the presidential election. Majid Ghahremani

Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, London SW7