Mahmudali Chehregani

Who is Mahmudali Chehregani?

Mahmudali Chehregani is an Azerbaijani separatist leader, born in Shabestar, East Azarbaijan Province, Iran, in 1958. After the expulsion of SANLM by Piruz Dilenchi, he founded the Southern Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement, a separatist political group that claims to represent the interests of Iran's estimated 12 to 23.5 million Azerbaijani minority. Chehregani was a professor of linguistics at Tabriz University.

According to Professor William Beeman, "The Bush administration also flitered with supporting the Mujaheddin-Khalq in their efforts to overthrow the Tehran government, and supporting Mahmud Ali Chehregani, leader of an Azerbaijani separatist movement calling for a federated Iran."