Kamran Najafzadeh

Kamran Najafzadeh was born on 19 May 1979 in Tehran’s Sattarkhan neighborhood.

Ahmadinejad and Najafzadeh in an exclusive interview about the Iranian Nuclear program

He is married and has one son. He has a bachelors degree in Genetic Engineering and a masters degree in Theater. He is member of Association of Iranian Journalists (anjoman e senfi).[3] He is a Special Ambassador for Children and the Elderly at Iran's Welfare Organization. He is also Ambassador for the institution of Rare Diseases in Iran.

He is the recipient of a Humanitarian Award by provided by the secretary of Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the secretary of the ministry of labor and social affairs in Iran.[4]

Prior to entering iranian TV, Kamran Najafzadeh was a journalist at a number of newspapers including Arman and Keyhan Sports.[5] At the age of 19 he became the youngest editor in chief of Keyhan Sports. His writings and poems have been published in various magazines including Children’s Keyhan

Najafzadeh the lead anchor for the controversial IRIB News program 20:30. ِThis program was criticized for interviewing with political prisoners and accused of human rights violations by the Radio Farda (VoA in Farsi).[6] Najafzadeh also became the host of a political program "special news talk" after leaving 20:30[7] and Build a social and political comedy show with a name serfan jahat e etela[8] During his residency in Iran, Najafzadeh managed the annual exclusive interview with then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about the Iranian Nuclear program.[9] Najafzadeh also had talks with some of the Iranian former presidents such as Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami.[10] Kamran Najafzadeh interviewed with the most famous athletes in Iran and the world, including Nasser Hejazi, the famous Iranian goalkeeper[11] Najafzadeh also met with UNICEF and World Health Organization officials at UN headquarters to follow up on the plight of sick children in Iran.[12] He also had an exclusive interview with Hassan Nasrallah the secretary general of the Hezbollah militia,[13]

Najafzadeh in an exclusive interview with the general secretary of Hizbolla on 16 September 2011

Najafzadeh in an exclusive interview with Larry King

Najafzadeh and Ali Parvin

Najafzadeh and Nasser Hejazi

In connection with the Iran-US nuclear deal, he televised dozens of news items from the venue in Vienna, Austria.[14]

Najafzadeh’s claim about “conducting interviews” with well-known characters was questioned on multiple occasions. For example, according to his portrayal of his encounter with Larry King, it was an “unofficial short conversation,” objected to by Christiane Amanpour.[15] There is no record of the presence of Larry King and Christian Amanpour in the same venue, let alone the attendance of Najafzadeh in the same meeting. No footage or audio recording of this encounter was released to the public.

However, a schematic image of him with Larry King, intended to be understood as symbolic and forged, was published.[16] Later the same image was widely used by government supported media as the evidence that the interview was actually held.[16]

He also wrote about his encounter with Lionel Messi on his blog: “I remembered a memory. They were supposed to give Messi the golden ball. I was in Paris and my press card had not been issued … when Messi got out of the car, I jumped forward and asked several questions. I asked: ‘What do you know about Iranian football? Do you have any knowledge?’ He said: ‘I do not know.’ Then his bodyguards pushed us aside and that was it.”[17]Later, his 56 seconds encounter with Messy[18] was proposed by the Iranian government funded media to support his claims of conducting an interview with Messy.[19]

His interview with Hassan NasrallahSayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the general secretary of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, was also initially contested within Iran.[20] He later released his image with him on his blog to support his claim.[20]

He is the author of several books including the series “Talkhe Narenj” and “Haft Dastan” as well as the book “The Scary Cave of Skeletons”.Upon returning from his assignment in France, Najafzadeh published the book Reporter General De Gaulle .

Until now he has more than 3000 minutes of Television reports. Reports like Aghaye Doorbini, Ali Koochooloo,[21] Gozresh e Madan[22] , Nargesi ha , Mahtab Passengers,[23] a series of reports called Grey Cities , his interview with the singer of “Yar e Dabestani e man” , and his reports from Iraq. Abd Ol Mohammad Sherani, Poetry by Abdul Mohammad the teacher of that school in Kaloo said “Najafzadeh made Kaloo global”.[24]

On 26 March 2011, Najafzadeh was expelled from France. While the French government never released a public statement about this event his hiring agency, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, claimed it was because: “the French Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs decided, during a meeting, that “the IRIBNews reporter had crossed the yellow line and stirred up hatred in public opinion French public”.[25][26]

Najafzadeh has reported from countries such as Libya, Italy, Switzerland, Egypt, Austria and from critical war zones.[27]

Only one day from the release of Jason Rezaian from the Evin Prison by Iranian authorities on 16 January 2016, Najafzadeh's visa was issued by the United States government.[28] This raised speculation on a potential agreement behind the scene between the Iranian Government and Obama administration. Najafzadeh has a C2 single entry visa to the United States and can't move further than 25 miles from the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.[28]

Kamran Najafzadeh recalls the crash of C-130 Hercules[29] as the most bitter memory of his professional life. His unique presentation and reporting style has attracted many fans and has made him a favorite among viewers.[30] Kamran Najafzadeh is a fan of the Iranian soccer team Persepolis, his favorite player growing up was Ahmadreza Abedzadeh.

Kamran Najafzadeh’s name has been in the list of possible names for Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Fame[31][32] According to Majid Bahremand (Head of public relations of Iranian Artists Society, Bashgah Honarmandan) Najafzadeh was added to the team as a revered figure in the field of news and reporting.[33] He did a short one-liner interview with Lionel Messi during the time he was in France.[34]

He was registered as a candidate for Iran’s parliament on the one hand[35] and he was the face of advertisement for a watch on billboards on the other.[36] Najafzadeh has also been the subject of criticism in recent years, of those one can point to the criticism made against him by Raja News and his former employer state-run newspapers Keyhan.[37]