Senior Iranian diplomat quits post to join opposition

AFP - A senior official at the Iranian embassy said Saturday that he has resigned from his post to join the political opposition against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
  
"I've made this decision on my own and I'm very decided," the embassy's second-in-charge, Hossein Alizadeh, 45, told AFP.
  
A former charge d'affaires in Finland, Alizadeh handed in his resignation four days ago, saying his decision dated back to 2009's "unfair elections" when "Ahmadinejad was imposed on Iranians."
  
"He is a profound danger for all... very dangerous not only for the world and the region, but also for Iranians," Alizadeh said, adding that a majority of Iranian diplomats are against the regime.
  
He remained tight-lipped about whether he would seek political asylum in Finland, but said he was "terribly afraid" and that he had received threats via email.
  
Married with three children, Alizadeh worked for Iran's foreign ministery for 21 years including stints in Bulgaria and Egypt.
  
He is the second Iranian diplomat to resign in the Nordic region after the departure of Mohamed Rez Heydari from the Oslo embassy last January.