During a visit to the University of Mashhad professor Sadegh Zibakalam refuses to trample on the american and israeli flag that the Basij have laid out on the floor to the cheering of students. He even pushes one of the basijs out of the way who then tries to force him to step on the flags.Zibakalam is an Iranian academic, author and pundit. A graduate of the University of Bradford, he is a professor at University of Tehran and appears frequently on international news outlets including the BBC and Aljazeera.He has become a familiar face in Iran for his passionate and daring debates with hardliners in which he publicly challenges the state line on many sensitive topics.He has questioned achievements of nuclear program of Iran and for this he has been charged with "weakening the system".In February 2014, Zibakalam publicly stated that he recognizes the State of Israel.