“Iranian Celebration Canceled,” from the Washington Post, with thanks to EPG:
A celebration scheduled for this weekend at Montgomery County’s new hotel and conference center, marking the 26th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran, was canceled after the hotel’s operator learned that it would violate federal law.
The Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, which opened in December, was to play host to 1,000 guests at a reception thrown by Ali Jazini, director of the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
John Wolf, a Marriott spokesman, said yesterday that the hotel canceled the event after realizing it is illegal to do business with Iran. He said Marriott officials will “be taking steps” to prevent similar bookings in the future.
Announcement of the event raised an outcry from Iranian opponents of the country’s regime who live in the United States. They organized a campaign calling on Marriott to cancel.
“For them to come celebrate the anniversary of their glorious revolution in the United States is just wrong,” said Iman Foroutan, director of the Iran of Tomorrow Movement, an American-based organization working to oust Iran’s fundamentalist regime. “If they allowed this, I would not be surprised if al Qaeda celebrated their next anniversary in the heart of New York.”