Motlagh

MEMORANDUM **

Arian Hafezy Motlagh, a native and citizen of Iran, petitions for review of two Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decisions. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 .

With respect to Hafezy Motlagh’s petition for review of the BIA’s denial of his application for asylum, withholding, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), Case No. 05-71362, we grant the petition and remand.

Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s finding that Hafezy Motlagh did not establish past persecution. See Al-Harbi v. INS, 242 F.3d 882, 888 (9th Cir.2001).

With respect to his well-founded fear of future persecution, Hafezy Motlagh testified that he learned that Iranian Security Forces accused him of working for a Zionist company. His witness testified that he learned that Iranian Security Forces accused Hafezy Motlagh of being a spy for Israel. The IJ found Hafezy Motlagh and his corroborating witness to be credible, but found that Hafezy Motlagh failed to establish a well-founded fear of future persecution because his evidence of fear of future harm in Iran was based upon hearsay and was too speculative.

First, the IJ erred by rejecting Hafezy Motlagh’s fear…