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The event has garnered global notoriety and is a persistent mark against an Iranian regime that has tried over the past year to show that it’s ready to emerge from international isolation.
Last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attempted to distance the administration of President Hassan Rouhani from the contest.
In an interview with the New Yorker, Zarif said the event was sponsored by private nongovernmental organizations and not his government. He then pointed to a history of supposed Western double standards.