Gay Iranian poet's visit fulfills dream

OK to enter followed 4 months of red tape

Payam Feili fled his native Iran last year because of the persecution he faced over his sexuality. Now, the gay poet has made a yearslong dream come true - he is visiting Israel, Iran's archenemy and a country known for its tolerance toward gays.

But the 30-year-old Feili stands out not only because of his arrival in a country so at odds with his own, but because of his professed adoration for the state some Iranian leaders have dubbed a cancer and have called to be wiped off the map.