Iranian translator takes flak for toning down Trump speech

An Iranian television translator defended himself after being criticised for soft-balling US President Donald Trump’s attacks on Iran in his maiden speech to the UN General Assembly. 

Nima Chitsaz, a translator for state broadcaster IRIB, said on Wednesday he had decided in the heat of the moment to spare his Persian-speaking viewers from the verbal attacks by Trump.

As a result, when Trump accused Iran of being a “depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos,” Chitsaz’s Persian translation was simply: “Iran speaks of destroying Israel.”

Trump later told the UN assembly: “Other than the vast military power of the United States ... Iran’s people are what their leaders fear the most.”

This was translated for Iranian viewers as: “The US Army is a very strong army and the Iranian nation is a very strong nation.”

“This is what causes the regime to restrict internet access, tear down satellite dishes, shoot unarmed student protesters and imprison political reformers” was relayed as: “Many incidents happen in Iran which are unacceptable to us.”

Chitsaz was slammed on social media, with one reformist politician accusing him of “censoring and distorting” the speech.

Even the semiofficial ISNA news agency said that it would further erode trust in the Iranian media.

“Are you paid to translate or to translate whenever you see fit?” wrote one mocking Twitter user.

“You should have translated Trump’s nonsense so that people could better judge this stupid person,” another argued.

Chitsaz responded by saying that the English speech had been left loud enough for people to translate for themselves.

“I think anybody else in my place would not have translated it,” he said.