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Selfies in Syria: How one Iranian religious singer is showing his support for fighters

A famous Iranian religious singer who has a close relationship with Iran's hard-liners, says he did not intend for his controversial pictures in Syria to be published.
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When pictures of famous Iranian religious singer Saeed Haddadian and his son wearing military fatigues in Syria surfaced online in late January it caused such a stir that Saudi Arabian media a few days later published false reports that they had both been killed. To clear up questions about the pictures and explain his reasons for traveling to Syria, Haddadian spoke to Tasnim News Agency, which published a Q&A on Feb. 3.

Haddadian said he was opposed to the pictures being published online. One picture shows Haddadian standing in the Syrian countryside with a walkie-talkie in hand. Another pictures shows his son, Mohammad Hossein, crouching behind a machine gun inside a bunker. A third picture shows father and son taking what appears to be a selfie.

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