Ravanbakhsh

MEMORANDUM **

Bhagbadran Anoshervan Ravanbakhsh, a native and citizen of Iran, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), summarily affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review an adverse credibility finding for substantial evidence, Lata v. INS, 204 F.3d 1241, 1245 (9th Cir.2000), and we reverse only if the evidence compels a contrary conclusion, INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483-84 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992). We deny the petition for review.

Ravanbakhsh’s testimony that he wrote a high school essay that led to his arrest by the Iranian government was inconsistent with his assertion in his declaration that his friend wrote the essay. This inconsistency goes to the heart of his claim because this incident formed the basis of his alleged persecution. See Chebchoub v. INS, 257 F.3d 1038, 1042-43 (9th Cir.2001). Moreover, substantial evidence supports the IJ’s determination that Ravanbakhsh’s testimony lacked specificity. See Singh-Kaur v. INS, 183 F.3d 1147, 1153 (9th Cir.1999). Accordingly, substantial…