Tsarukyan

MEMORANDUM **

Ashkhen Tsarukyan, a native of Iran and citizen of Armenia, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision affirming an immigration judge’s denial of her application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review adverse credibility determinations for substantial evidence, Singh-Kaur v. INS, 183 F.3d 1147, 1149 (9th Cir.1999), and 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.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that Tsarukyan’s credibility was undermined by inconsistencies in her testimony regarding her level of involvement in the Dashnack Party, the circumstances surrounding her June 1994 speech, as well as a doctor’s letter which was dated before she was allegedly beaten by police. Because these irregularities go to the heart of Tsarukyan’s asylum claim, see Chebchoub v. INS, 257 F.3d 1038, 1043-44 (9th Cir.2001), the record does not compel a reversal, see Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. at 481 .

Because Tsarukyan failed to meet the less stringent…