Mehrdad Balali
835 Pedersen Court
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Phone: (831) 655-1671
Cell: (831) 224-6765
E-mail:
OBJECTIVE: Seeking a position as Farsi linguist/Middle East analyst
EDUCATION: California State University Northridge—Bachelor of Arts,
Political Science
EXPERIENCE:
1- Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey— Instructor/linguist (September 2005 to Present)
2- Reuters News Agency, Bahrain—Correspondent (Sept 2003 – March 2005)
Reported political and economic news in Bahrain, which is headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. I also covered news related to Islamic militancy in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries bordering the Persian Gulf.
3- Reuters, Dubai (The United Arab Emirates)—Correspondent (Sept 2000-Sept 2003)
* Covered political and economic news in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE
* Covered U.S. military operations in Afghanistan after September 11; Afghan power-sharing conference in Germany in December 2001; and Afghanistan’s first parliamentary election in 2002.
* Covered the launch of the U.S.-led offensive against Iraq from Kuwait in March
2003. Covered political developments in Shiite-populated southern Iraq from neighboring Kuwait.
* Covered Kuwait’s parliamentary elections in 2003 and rivalry between
secular forces and fundamentalists linked to al-Qaeda.
* Covered Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in 2003—ahead of the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, when anti-U.S. sentiments were at their peak.
4- Reuters News Agency, Tehran-Iran—Correspondent (March 1999-September 2000)
Reported and analyzed a particularly sensitive period in Iran’s contemporary political history: power struggle between reformists and hard-liners. Covered 1999 student unrest and crackdown on free press and dissidents. Covered landmark elections that swept reformers to power.
5- Agence France Presse (AFP), Tehran-Iran—Correspondent (March 1993-March 1999)
Covered political developments in Iran following 1980-1988 war with Iraq. Also
reported the country’s tense relations with the West over terrorism charges. Also covered the civil war in neighboring Afghanistan and the rise of Taliban.
6- The Economist magazine—Correspondent based in Tehran (1997-199)
Contributed to the prestigious London weekly from Iran.
Reported Khatami’s reformist movement and the ensuing political power struggle.
7- Tehran Times daily news paper—Correspondent (February 1992-March 1993)
Used position in Iran’s leading English-language newspaper to become
familiar with inner-workings of theocratic system and develop
insight into clerical power structure.
8- Los Angeles Unified School District—English as a Second Language Instructor (Sept 1987-Oct 1991)
Prepared and implemented lesson plans for the instruction of adult learners in the English Language. I also worked as an educational counselor.
RELATED INFORMATION:
Contributed articles to a host of publications in Britain and the United States on a wide range of subjects related to Iran—from arts to politics to human and press rights.
LANGUAGES: Fluent English, Fluent Farsi, medium Arabic
REFERENCES: ** Samia Nakhoul, Middle East Bureau Chief, Dubai,
UAE
()
** Alan Eyre, U.S. State Department official concerned
with the Iran file
()
** Zhu, Shensheng, Dean—Multi Language School
Defense Language Institute, Monterey.
831-224-7805
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Wrote a novel to be published by The Permanent Press Publishing House in New York in December 2009