10 Facts About Abdollah Nouri

Abdollah Nouri has been called the "bete noire" of Islamic conservatives in Iran.

However, Abdollah Nouri supported dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who was placed under house arrest in 1997 for questioning the authority of Ayatollah Khamenei.

Abdollah Nouri served as minister of interior for four years in then-President Hashemi Rafsanjani's first term cabinet.

Abdollah Nouri was "generally seen as the most outspoken reformist" in Khatami's cabinet.

Abdollah Nouri resigned from the Council in order to participate in the sixth parliamentary election.

Abdollah Nouri founded a newspaper and named it Khordad, named after the victory of President Khatami on the 2nd of Khordad, 1376 by the Iranian calendar, equivalent to 23 May 1997.

Abdollah Nouri was tried by the Special Clerical Court in Iran and made an "outspoken and aggressive defense during his trial", refusing to accept the authority of this court, which he saw as unconstitutional.

Abdollah Nouri was released because his brother Alireza Noori, a member of parliament at the time, was killed in an accident.

Abdollah Nouri was mentioned as a possible candidate in the 2009 presidential election, but did not run.

Abdollah Nouri is considered as one of the leading pragmatists among reformers, though his policies were aligned with Khomeini's doctrines.