LinkParsi says these attitudes held by many in Iran help to fuel the country's high number of gender reassignment surgeries, as does the peculiar fact that gender reassignment surgery is legal in Iran.
"Homosexuality is illegal, but sex changes are legal. Many men are changing their sex. The one way you can sleep with men is to change your sex."
Parsi says it's also necessary to inform other countries about the realities of the situation in Iran. He points to a case involving a refugee claimant in Britain, a gay man who asked for refugee status after his boyfriend was executed in Iran in December of 2005.
"The British government didn't accept the boyfriend's refugee application. They said you have to prove the execution."
But Parsi says the Iranian government and authorities have learned to disguise their persecution of homosexuals. He says that because of international condemnation they now list other causes for arrests and executions, such as alcohol use or child abuse. He points to a 2003 case where police arrested 75 men.
