Tehran Iran Government Officials

Tehran's reformist mayor went on trial for corruption, telling a judge that the charges against him are lies. Gholamhossein Karbaschi pleaded not guilty to the charges involving embezzlement, fraud and mismanagement of public funds. His supporters see the case as an attempt by hard-liners to discredit officials allied with moderate President Mohammad Khatami. In entering his plea, Karbaschi, 44, said the allegations "are absolute lies."

Iran's supreme leader has pardoned the popular, reform-minded former mayor of Tehran after seven months in prison, a move seen as part of an effort by hard-liners to project a more moderate image ahead of parliamentary elections. Gholamhossein Karbaschi was imprisoned on corruption charges, which he denied, and sentenced to two years in prison. Now he is poised to plunge back into public life and will soon launch a daily newspaper, according to Parvin Emami, a journalist who is working with him.

Iran's supreme leader has pardoned the popular, reform-minded former mayor of Tehran after seven months in prison, a move seen as part of an effort by hard-liners to project a more moderate image ahead of parliamentary elections. Gholamhossein Karbaschi was imprisoned on corruption charges, which he denied, and sentenced to two years in prison. Now he is poised to plunge back into public life and will soon launch a daily newspaper, according to Parvin Emami, a journalist who is working with him.

To the shock of friends and supporters, a conservative Islamic judge in Iran on Thursday convicted Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the reformist mayor of Tehran, of corruption and sentenced him to five years in prison, 60 lashes and fines of more than $300,000. The verdict against Karbaschi, a leading symbol of the new climate of liberalization in the Islamic Republic and one of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's staunchest political allies, was harsher than most analysts expected.

The mayor of Tehran, who played a major role in the election of moderate Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of embezzlement. The move is expected to increase the power struggle between Khatami's supporters and the hard-liners opposed to his moderate policies. Gholamhossein Karbaschi was arrested after he showed up for a court session in a corruption probe, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

In a dramatic finale to a trial that has riveted this nation, Tehran's pro-reform mayor gave a powerful, four-hour defense of himself and his administration Saturday, denying corruption allegations lodged by conservatives opposed to liberalizing Iran's Islamic rule.

To the shock of friends and supporters, a conservative Islamic judge in Iran on Thursday convicted Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the reformist mayor of Tehran, of corruption and sentenced him to five years in prison, 60 lashes and fines of more than $300,000. The verdict against Karbaschi, a leading symbol of the new climate of liberalization in the Islamic Republic and one of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's staunchest political allies, was harsher than most analysts expected.

In a dramatic finale to a trial that has riveted this nation, Tehran's pro-reform mayor gave a powerful, four-hour defense of himself and his administration Saturday, denying corruption allegations lodged by conservatives opposed to liberalizing Iran's Islamic rule.

Tehran's reformist mayor went on trial for corruption, telling a judge that the charges against him are lies. Gholamhossein Karbaschi pleaded not guilty to the charges involving embezzlement, fraud and mismanagement of public funds. His supporters see the case as an attempt by hard-liners to discredit officials allied with moderate President Mohammad Khatami. In entering his plea, Karbaschi, 44, said the allegations "are absolute lies."

The mayor of Tehran, who played a major role in the election of moderate Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of embezzlement. The move is expected to increase the power struggle between Khatami's supporters and the hard-liners opposed to his moderate policies. Gholamhossein Karbaschi was arrested after he showed up for a court session in a corruption probe, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.