Billed as a "review" of the Holocaust, the conference will last for two days and participants will have a chance to voice their opinions.

The conference is drawing criticism because of questionable topics and participants. The Iranian president himself, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, once called the Holocaust a "myth."

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in a welcome address that the conference's goal was to "create an opportunity for thinkers who cannot express their views freely in Europe about the Holocaust."

Iran has one of the worst records on the planet for freedom of expression and intellectual freedom.