Representatives from 69 countries and international bodies will take part in the two-day meeting beginning on Thursday, the official news agency IRNA said.
Saffar-Harandi, 54, is a close advisor to hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is a former deputy editor in chief of ultra-conservative daily Kayhan.
He held the rank of Brigadier General in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and was once in charge of the IRGCs Southern Command. He was also the Political Bureau director of the IRGC for many years.
In October 2005, he issued a directive ordering all female civil servants serving in his ministry and female journalists at the state newspapers and news agencies to go home by 6 p.m. to do their house chores.
The following month, the IRGC general-turned-media censor announced that he was purging his ministry of officials he viewed as having failed to protect Islamic values.
In August 2006, Saffar-Harandi vowed to rein in the media as part of a crackdown on “wicked manifestations in society.
