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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: GOLI FASSIHIAN
TEL: 202-215-0998

Washington DC - The National Iranian American Council remains deeply concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran since the country’s disputed elections on June 12. Disturbing accounts of continued violence and widespread intimidation and harassment of Iranian citizens by the Basij militia and other elements of Iran’s security forces continue to be received from inside the country.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: GOLI FASSIHIAN
TEL: 202-215-0998

Tehran is being rocked. Convinced that the landslide victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad June 12 was a fraud, hundreds of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets. Clashes with security forces have left at least 19 dead, according to the official count.

Washington, DC - Amnesty International released a statement today denouncing Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks regarding the Iranian post-election demonstrations. Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa program stated, "We are extremely disturbed at statements made by Ayatollah Khamenei which seem to give the green light to security forces to violently handle protesters exercising their right to demonstrate and express their views."

Khamenei's speech on Friday reasserted the validity of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmanidinejad's reelection, and called for an end to all demonstrations. He also gave out a stern warning to opposition leaders and demonstrators alike when he stated that opposition leaders would be "responsible for bloodshed and chaos" if they did not oppose further demonstrations.

American policymakers are still deciding what course of action they should take. It is critical that they hear from the Iranian-American community as they do so.

What is your recommendation?

#1: The US shouldn't interfere.

#2: U.S. involvement would be counterproductive, but human rights violations must be condemned.

#3: The US should voice its support for the demonstrators.

We encourage you to choose the recommendation that most accurately represents your opinion and contact your elected officials. We have pre-written messages for your convenience, but encourage you to modify and add to the messages as you see fit. We have attempted to broadly capture the most common ideas about what the United States should be doing, but we recognize this is not an exaustive list of options. If your views aren't fully reflected, simply modify the message to reflect your views.

Click on one of the three options above to tell the President and your lawmakers what you think the US response should be!

As events surrounding Iran's election unfold, NIAC staff will be blogging at www.niacINsight.com with the latest news and developments, along with English translations of Farsi Twitter feeds coming out of Iran.

Click here for the latest updates.

Washington, DC - Iranian-Americans from the New York tri-state area exceeded NIAC’s fundraising goals and helped raise over $110,000 to go towards preserving the Persepolis Artifacts on May 30th at the Asia Society in Manhattan. More than 180 attendees, Iranian Americans and Americans alike - and including Professor Ehsan Yarshater of Encyclopedia Iranica - heard from special guests Amy Goodman from Democracy Now, Roger Cohen from New York Times and Professor Matthew Stolper from the Persepolis Fortification Project.

NIAC honored both Amy Goodman and Roger Cohen for their journalistic integrity and outstanding reporting. Amy Goodman, who has won numerous awards for her reporting on East Timor and Nigeria, stressed the need for an independent media. She pointed out the media’s failure to ask the right questions during the lead-up to the Iraq War. Roger Cohen, who has written a series of thought-provoking columns on US-Iran relations, shared stories of his travels to Iran, reactions to his columns and how he believes US-Iran tensions can be reduced.

The President would be well advised to pursue his chosen strategy with the intent to succeed -- not fail -- and the most critical factor will be time. There are those urging hard and fast deadlines on the President for diplomacy with Iran -- both here and in Israel -- who do not aim to see diplomacy succeed but to use its failure to justify harsher measures. Read full piece at the Huffington Post.

Washington, DC - The House of Representatives is no longer planning to vote on the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009 this week, NIAC has learned, out of concern that it could benefit hardline candidates in the Iranian election.  The bill had been scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, a mere three days before the Iranian presidential election, according to a Congressional schedule posted by the Republican leadership over the weekend.

After NIAC President Trita Parsi published an article on Huffington Post about how the vote could benefit hardline candidates in the Iranian election, Democratic Congressional staff told NIAC that the measure was no longer on the calendar, and would not be placed on the calendar because it could benefit Iranian hardliners.  Staff for the Republican Whip, Eric Cantor (R-VA), claim that the vote first appeared on the Democrats' calendar.  How the measure made it onto the Republican calendar was not immediately clear.

Washington DC – The “best gift” the United States could give to Iran would be to “launch an economic embargo on Iran,” according to Keith Crane, Director of the RAND Corporation’s Environment, Energy, and Economic Development Program.  At a conference last Friday titled “Understanding Iran: Domestic and Foreign Policy on the Eve of the Presidential Election,” Crane said that long-term economic sanctions could be effective, but that they are currently not strong enough to threaten the existence of the regime.

He believes that an economic embargo would actually force the Iranian government to institute reforms that its economy desperately needs, while allowing hardliners to place the blame for any short-term pain on the West.

Washington D.C. - "There's no way Israel is going to [strike] Iran if we don't support it by denying them the right to fly over Iraq" said Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security advisor to Jimmy Carter, in a conference organized by the RAND Corporation on June 5^th on Iran's domestic and foreign policy.  According to Brzezinski, a war with Iran will only hurt the U.S. and Israel and "that is why we have to make sure Israel will not strike.  It will be painful, damaging, and would set national rage and fanaticism in Iran."

Brzezinski said that the notion of a military strike against Iran is a "non-starter" for the U.S. since it is already engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Among the disastrous consequences of an attack, Brzezinski pointed to the likely reactions from Iran which include destabilizing the situation in Afghanistan and the Strait of Hormuz and disrupting the flow of oil with devastating economic effects globally. 

Washington DC - Today, Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced the "Reuniting Families Act," which would give green card holders the same rights as citizens to bring their spouses and children to the US. The bill aims to provide greater stability to legal immigrant families, and is being viewed by many as an attempt to lay the groundwork for more ambitious immigration reforms later this year.

In a statement, Rep. Honda said "Our family-based immigration system has not been updated in 20 years, separating spouses, children and their parents, who have played by the rules, for years, often decades. Our proposed legislation is in line with both American family values and with our short-term need to grow our economy and save taxpayer money."

Contact: Emma MacKinnon
Tel: (202) 302-6920

Washington DC - President Barack Obama sent an unprecedented message to the Iranian people and government on the occasion of Norooz, expressing his deep respect for the Iranian nation and civilization, as well as the contributions of Iranian Americans to the United States.

Recognizing the meaning of Norooz as the dawn of a new day, President Obama expresses his wish for constructive ties between the United States and Iran, signaling his strategic intent to see an end to the 30-year era of destructive enmity.

At a time of hope when President Barack Obama has commended our heritage, saying "The Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization," a court in Chicago is about to confiscate and auction off some of the most powerful symbols of this civilization: priceless artifacts from Takht-e-Jamshid.

By failing to gain reparations from the Iranian government, lawyers for victims of terrorist attacks in Israel are now in turn attacking the heritage of Iranian Americans.

The plaintiff's objective: seize these relics of our heritage and auction them off to the highest bidder like items sold on e-bay. "Maybe they'll end up on coffee tables around the country,' one lawyer for the plaintiffs mused.

This must be stopped. Ask President Obama to prevent the auction of our cultural heritage!

Tel: 202 215 0998

For immediate release

Washington, DC, Oct 3, 2008 -- The National Iranian American Council, working in partnership with a coalition of grassroots NGOs successfully defeated a Congressional resolution that would take a decisive step towards war with Iran.

"Stopping this dangerous resolution is a significant victory for the Iranian-American community," said Emily Blout, Legislative Director at the National Iranian American Council. "It is also a testament to the American people's opposition to another war in the Middle East."

Washington DC - What do former Under Secretary of State Tom Pickering, Congressmen Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) and Jim Moody (D-WI), comedian and actor Maz Jobrani, author Reza Aslan and Professor R.K. Ramazani have in common? They all serve together with ten other prominent academics and professionals on NIAC's new Board of Advisors.

NIAC has issued a position statement on the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported a significant increase in human rights violations in Iran in the past few years. The statement expresses grave concern about the human rights situation in Iran and urges the government of Iran to respect the internationally recognized rights of its citizens.

As the human rights situation in Iran deteriorated, NIAC consulted its membership for guidance. As the largest grass-roots organization representing Americans of Iranian descent, NIAC regularly seeks direction from its membership to determine its priorities. The NIAC membership voted in favor of raising the organization’s profile in speaking out against human rights violations in Iran.

Washington DC - Thousands of priceless artifacts from Persepolis that are on loan to the University of Chicago risk being auctioned off to the highest bidder. In an effort to defend the collective cultural heritage of Iranian Americans, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) has secured pro bono representation from with Mayer Brown LLP with connection to the case, Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran.

“The Iranian-American community has felt helpless in face of this threat to their historic heritage,” said Trita Parsi, NIAC President. “With Mayer Brown’s help, we are creating an avenue for the community to have their concerns and interests considered in this legal battle.”

Download Farsi version in PDF

Washington DC - NIAC’s funding has grown significantly over the last few years. The structure of NIAC’s financing reflectsthe organization's grass-roots nature and the strong support it enjoys in the Iranian-American community. NIAC is an organization for Iranian Americans because it’s funded by Iranian Americans. At the same time, we have been fortunate enough to receive support and grants from major US and Iranian-American foundations such as Ploughshares Fund, Colombe Foundation, National Endowment for Democracy, Tides Foundation, Kenbe Foundation, Pluralism Fund, Open Society Institute, Connect US, Parsa Foundation, the Hand Foundation, Ahoora Foundation, the Houtan Foundation and the Eurasia Foundation.

Washington DC - The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) has been the target of several erroneous, maliciously defamatory opinion pieces by Kenneth Timmerman and Hassan Daioleslam in Frontpage Magazine. The articles are riddled with inaccuracies, misquotations, incorrect links and references to figures that played no role in NIAC's inception, operations, or its development over the years.