Reuters' new chief correspondent for Iran will be based in Turkey

Parisa Hafezi (photo) has been named Reuters chief correspondent, Iran. She will be based in Ankara, recognising the difficulty foreign correspondents have in working in Tehran. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, many international correspondents have been banned from working in Iran or withdrawn by their organisations.

Announcing the appointment, Middle East editor Samia Nakhoul said: “Parisa’s record of breaking news and landing exclusives speaks for itself, most recently from nuclear talks in New York and Vienna. She led our distinguished coverage during the 2009 Iranian uprising after the disputed election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2011, Parisa was honored by the International Women’s Media Foundation with a Courage in Journalism award for serving freedom, democracy and human rights.”

Hafezi began her career in journalism in 1995 and was the first female journalist working for international media in Iran after the revolution that toppled the Shah. She joined Reuters in 2000 as a part-time stringer in Tehran, becoming a staff correspondent in 2003, senior correspondent and deputy bureau chief in 2006 and bureau chief in 2009. She was a Pulitzer prize nominee in 2009. In 2013, she moved to Turkey as Ankara bureau chief after the Iranian government withdrew Reuters’ accreditation. She joined Reuters' Enterprise team in 2013 as senior correspondent in the Middle East.

Hafezi is a metallurgy engineering graduate from the American Middle East Technical University in Turkey. She speaks fluent Turkish. ■