London, Sep.26 (ANI): Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not only known for changing his clothes only once a week, but for offering 1500 dollars to guests to dine with him.
Last Tuesday, he did this at New York Warwick hotel.
And, he's done so for years during his annual trips to New York to address the United Nations.
"He pays you to come," said an Iranian woman who was among a group of protesters outside the hotel and declined to be identified.
The guests, a selection of prominent expatriates, attended the low-key affair at the Warwick's Murals on 54 restaurant, which was closed the entire week for Ahmadinejad's use.
Such payments are customary, says Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, an influential Iranian activist.
"They basically rent a crowd," she said.
"It's a tradition that goes back to the revolution. They would buy workers lunch and give them money to attend demonstrations in favor of Khomeini: Come and make it look good."
A second dinner on Thursday drew a crowd of university students and professors-one day after a planned dinner at Columbia got scrapped. (ANI)
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