Does this man not deserve a hospital bed and a nurse from this country’s culture?! / Do not return Kamran Fani to the nursing home.

Narges Kiyani: It was mid-Mehr 1404 (October 2025) when the news of Master Kamran Fani, the renowned indexer and bibliographer, residing in a nursing home in Karaj, cast a shadow of sadness over enthusiasts of culture, art, and literature. Fani, who according to Foroozandeh Arbabi, the only Iranian member of the International Rumi Foundation, never married and consequently has no children, was transferred by a distant relative to this place, which Arbabi refers to as an “unstandard facility.” Foroozandeh Arbabi, whose husband Mohammad Bordbar, a commentator on Masnavi Manavi, a war veteran, and an old cultural friend of Kamran Fani, upon finding the address of the said center, arranged for Master Fani’s transfer to Sina Hospital. Although coordination had been made between the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education for this action, and the National Library was also aware, Foroozandeh Arbabi, while informing Aref Khorramshahi, personally took action and bore the costs for the Master’s transfer.

Master Kamran Fani was transferred to Sina Hospital at 00:00 AM on Friday, October 10, 2025. Foroozandeh Arbabi, in the absence of her ailing husband, despite being 65 herself, spent 24 consecutive hours at Fani’s bedside in the hospital. According to Arbabi’s observations, Kamran Fani had lost significant weight due to malnutrition when transferred from the nursing home to the hospital. Arbabi described Fani’s speech at that point as incomprehensible and his physical condition as severe, resulting from extreme hunger and intense restlessness. Arbabi states that signs of improvement gradually appeared from the third day of Kamran Fani’s hospitalization in the VIP section of Sina Hospital. It was during these days that Gholamreza Amirkhan, head of the National Archives and Library Organization, and middle managers of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance visited Fani, but after that, according to Arbabi, it was “Goodbye, Ali help you!”

First Wrong Step: Early Discharge

As Foroozandeh Arbabi recounts, Kamran Fani was slowly approaching a state where he could eat and drink and regain some of his speech ability. However, the first wrong step was his early discharge from Sina Hospital. Despite explaining the situation and pointing out that Fani would be transferred to a nursing home upon discharge, Foroozandeh Arbabi could not change the treating physician’s decision. So, Kamran Fani was this time transferred to a nursing home in Shahrak-e Gharb, Tehran. During this period, Gholamreza Amirkhan and also Baha’uddin Khorramshahi visited Kamran Fani again. Foroozandeh Arbabi, who also visited Kamran Fani every other day during this period, providing items such as clothing, snacks, etc., noticed something on the third day.

Second Wrong Step: Return to a Nursing Home, This Time in Shahrak-e Gharb, Tehran

She gradually noticed a decline in Fani’s condition compared to the days he was hospitalized. It was as if Fani had returned to the days before hospitalization, to the days he spent in the Karaj nursing home, mostly sleeping. This situation continued until last Friday, October 31, 2025, when Arbabi realized that Fani’s physical and mental decline was accelerating. So, she visited Kamran Fani again at 2 PM on Sunday, November 2, 2025. This time, upon entering the room, her attention was drawn to Fani’s lung infection, increased restlessness, and intermittent seizures. Arbabi’s inquiries to the nursing home staff, however, yielded no specific answers or ultimately led to contradictory responses. Arbabi immediately contacted the National Library staff, declared Fani’s condition critical, and demanded his transfer to the hospital.

Third Wrong Step: Hours Passed Until Re-hospitalization

Meanwhile, it took 6 hours until Arbabi was finally told to call 115 herself and transfer Fani to the nearest hospital. However, she declared that while she was willing to hospitalize Fani in a private hospital at her own expense, she was not willing to entrust him to an ambulance that would likely take the Master to a public hospital. So, Kamran Fani spent the night of Monday, November 3, 2025, in the nursing home despite his lung infection, restlessness, and seizures. On Monday morning, Arbabi once again informed the National Library of Kamran Fani’s physical condition. Fani was finally readmitted to the VIP section of Sina Hospital on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Under such circumstances, given the difficulties Fani faced in swallowing, Arbabi even took it upon herself to purchase a silicone NG tube for delivering food and medicine through the nose to the stomach. Arbabi’s account of these moments is a painful one. The residents’ attempts to insert a silicone NG tube for the 82-year-old restless patient, who had not eaten for 72 hours, failed twice. Finally, this morning, Wednesday, November 5, 2025, a specialist attended Kamran Fani’s bedside and successfully inserted the silicone NG tube.

Complaints and Requests

Foroozandeh Arbabi complains both about Kamran Fani’s early discharge from Sina Hospital during his first hospitalization and about the fact that everyone knew Fani had no choice but to return to a nursing home after being discharged from the hospital. Despite this, no one thought of providing a home with 24-hour nursing care for Fani.

Arbabi emphatically insists that, first as an Iranian citizen and then as a cultural activist, she requests that Fani’s discharge from the hospital not be rushed this time. Her painful question is: “Does this man not deserve a hospital bed and a nurse from this country’s culture?!” Arbabi repeatedly emphasizes that Kamran Fani must achieve complete stability before being discharged from the hospital. Furthermore, after being discharged, a home with nursing care and a specified stipend for his living expenses should be arranged so that he is not forced to return to a nursing home again. She painfully asked, “Have we fallen to such a level of moral decay and financial hardship that we would stand by and watch Kamran Fani be transferred back to a nursing home?!”

Foroozandeh Arbabi addresses Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the 14th government, and Mohammadreza Zafarghandi, the Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, requesting a special order for Kamran Fani’s situation to be addressed. Foroozandeh Arbabi’s concluding remark is the most painful one that can be heard from her: “If the end is such that it is the end of Kamran Fani’s life, it is better that we all repent from all culture and art.”