|
The Times of Israel: Senate Backs Israel in event of Strike on Iran Nuclear Weapon Program
Thursday, May 23, 2013
By: Haviv Ratigg Gur (The Times of Israel)
"Washington and Tehran are stuck in vicious cycle of mutual escalation that can only be broken through the give and take of serious negotiations, not through further saber rattling,"said Jamal Abdi, NIAC's Policy Director.
|
|
APF: US House Panel Backs Stiff New Iran Sanctions
Thursday, May 23, 2013
By: APF
Pro-diplomacy group the National Iranian American Council decried the House and Senate measures as "saber rattling" that will merely stoke tensions with Iran.
|
|
Tell Obama to Lift Sanctions on Communications Tools
Thursday, May 23, 2013
By: NIAC Action Alert
As Iran prepares for another election that is unlikely to be fair or free, it is time to end sanctions on personal communications devices that undermine the democratic aspirations of ordinary Iranians.
|
|
State Department Criticizes Iran on Lack of Religious Freedom
Thursday, May 23, 2013
By: Conor Hughes - News
The International Religious Freedom Report describes a deterioration of respect for religious freedom by Iran's government, including through harassment, imprisonment, and discrimination of religious practices and minorities.
|
|
Inter Press Service: U.S. Congress Moves Toward Full Trade Embargo on Iran
Thursday, May 23, 2013
By: Jim Lobe (Inter Press Service)
"Congress should abstain from any more reckless threats or sanctions that push us closer to the brink of war with Iran," Jamal Abdi of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) said of the Senate action.
|
|
Iran's March to Naked Dictatorship?
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
By: Trita Parsi (Special to HuffingtonPost)
The next few weeks in Iran -- with the elections and the political drama around it -- can prove decisive in determining whether a non-violent, narrow and arduous path towards democratization will remain in the medium term or whether the Middle Eastern powerhouse will turn more repressive, unfree and undemocratic for years to come.
|
|
You're Invited: Davis A panel discussion in review of impacts of sanctions on Iranian Health & Education
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
By: Sahar Fahimi
Please join Senses Cultural at UC Davis on June 2, 2013 for a panel discussion on the negative impacts of sanctions on the people of Iran, featuring NIAC President Trita Parsi.
|
|
Congress Escalates Iran Standoff with Support for Israeli Strikes, Sanctions
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC's statement regarding Senate passage of S.Res.65, a resolution conveying U.S. support for potential Israeli military strikes on Iran, and House committee approval of new sanctions.
|
|
Congress Debates War, Sanctions, Diplomacy and MEK with Top Obama Officials
Thursday, May 16, 2013
By: NIAC Staff - News
The House and Senate each held hearings on Iran policy, including sanctions, diplomacy, and war with top administration officials from the State and Treasury departments.
|
|
Why Now Is the Time For Syria Diplomacy
Thursday, May 16, 2013
By: Trita Parsi (Special to the Daily Beast)
A peaceful and sustainable resolution to the Syrian crisis is not within reach in the short-term. But a significant reduction in the violence and bloodshed can be achieved because the appetite for diplomacy is stronger now than at anytime in the past two years.
|
|
Why Sanctions on Iran are not Working
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
By: Trita Parsi & Reza Marashi (Special to AlJazeera)
By failing to offer a credible exit from the sanctions pain, neither the Iranian government nor stakeholders in the Iranian system believe that a change in nuclear policy will lead to the alleviation of their economic suffering.
|
|
Three Paths toward a Nuclear Deal with Iran
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
By: Reza Marashi (Special to Ploughshares Fund)
1) Balance the offer sheet.
2) Broaden the discussion.
3) Start with the end in mind.
|
|
New Congressional Sanctions Push Aimed at Killing Iran Diplomacy
Friday, May 10, 2013
By: Jamal Abdi (Special Lobe Log)
The notion that U.S. sanctions on Iran are supposed to act as diplomatic leverage to get a nuclear deal may be dispelled once and for all by a new Congressional action now in the works.
|
|
Iran Sanctions Stifling Iran's Freedom Movement
Thursday, May 9, 2013
By: Ryan Costello (Special to CNN)
Sweeping sanctions on Iran appear to have claimed their latest victim: the Samsung App store. Samsung has reportedly decided to block access to its App store in Iran from May 22.
|
|
New York Times: Senate Bill Would Halt Iran's Access to an Estimated $100 Billion in Cash
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
By: Rick Glad Stone (New York Times)
"When we've cemented a sanctions escalation path, we're creating a trajectory toward actual confrontation," said Trita Parsi, the founder of NIAC, a Washington group that opposes sanctions. Some Iranian leaders, he said, see the sanctions "as a train that can only go in one direction and has no brakes."
|
|
Wilson Center: The Media & Iran's Nuclear Program: An analysis of U.S. and U.K. coverage, 2009-2012
Monday, April 29, 2013
By: Darya Razavi, Middle East Progra
Marashi argued further that there has not been an honest and thorough discussion in the media about the economic and political viability of war with Iran, taking into account the potential costs and benefits associated with military action.
|
|
Congressman Urges U.S. to Foment Ethnic Tension in Iran
Friday, April 26, 2013
By: Solmaz Elmi-Sarabi
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, has never been shy about promoting ethnic separatism and supporting violent groups as a way to pressure Iran.
|
|
US Raises the Stakes in Military Game of Chicken with Iran
Monday, April 22, 2013
By: Jamal Abdi &Solmaz Elmi-Sarabi (Special to PS Europe)
While inside the US Congress the sentiment may be that the military option against Iran has to be more credible - a spate of new reports suggest that it is actually the diplomatic option that is in dire need of a boost.
|
|
Washington Post: Ahmadinejad's Top Aide Ponders Run
Friday, April 19, 2013
By: Jason Rezaian (Washington Post)
"The rules of the game have been known and largely followed for three decades, and the cutthroat nature of Iranian politics is now being shaped by the Ahmadinejad camp repeatedly pushing the boundaries of what's acceptable by the Islamic Republic's own standards," said Reza Marashi.
|
|
Time for Humanitarian Fix to Iran Sanctions
Friday, April 19, 2013
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
In the past week, Iran has been struck by two earthquakes that have killed dozens of people and leveled hundreds of homes. And because of the political standoff with Iran's government, Americans--including Iranian Americans with family in the affected regions--are largely unable to provide any help.
|
|
Iranian-American Coalition Reiterates Call for Obama to Allow Earthquake Relief
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
By: NIAC Press Release
In the aftermath of the second deadly earthquake to strike Iran within a week, a coalition of organizations have reiterated their call for President Obama to ensure sanctions do not impede humanitarian assistance.
|
|
Don't Let Sanctions Block Relief for Iran's Earthquake Victims
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
By: NIAC Action Alert
In the aftermath of two severe earthquakes, it is vital that relief is not obstructed. Please take a moment to send a letter to President Obama to urge him to act so that sanctions do not in any way block earthquake relief efforts in Iran.
|
|
Senate Resolution Brings U.S. Closer to War Against Iran
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council strongly opposes today's Senate Foreign Relations Committee adoption of S.Res.65, a resolution conveying U.S. support for potential Israeli military strikes on Iran.
|
|
Senate Considers Iraq-Style Regime Change Policy for Iran
Friday, April 12, 2013
By: Ryan Costello (Special to Huffington Post)
A bipartisan group of Senators led by Mark Kirk (R-IL) is reportedly considering a new, draconian round of sanctions on Iran that could only be lifted if Iran moves "toward a free and democratically elected government."
|
|
Coalition to Obama: Ensure Sanctions Don't Block Iran Earthquake Relief
Thursday, April 11, 2013
By: NIAC Press Release
In the aftermath of a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck Iran, a coalition of Iranian-American, human rights, and humanitarian organizations called on President Obama to ensure sanctions do not impede relief efforts.
|
|
Bridging Divides with the Iranian People
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
By: Solmaz Elmi-Sarabi - News
A new report focuses on focuses on revamping the U.S. diplomatic strategy regarding Iran, including by correcting the unintended impacts of sanctions.
|
|
HuffingtonPost Live: Why Sanctions?
Thursday, April 4, 2013
By: Ahmed Shihab-Eldin (HuffingtonPost Live)
A new report from the National Iranian American Council concludes that despite massive economic pain on regular citizens, the Iranian government won't shift its nuclear policy. It's hurting the middle class and the poor, so what's a better way?
|
|
Why the Iran Sanctions Don't Work
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
By: Bijan Khajehpour, Reza Marashi Special to the National Interest
Iran's responses to sanctions in 3 separate but mutually reinforcing categories: 1 Adapting it's economy to bend but not break. 2 Increasing efforts to target Western and Israeli interests around the world. 3 Creating new facts on the ground regarding its nuclear program.
|
|
NIAC's DC Spring Fundraiser Reception & Dinner
Friday, March 29, 2013
By: Sahar Fahimi
You Are Cordially Invited to NIAC's Spring Fundraiser Reception & Dinner: Strengthening Iranian Americans' Voice in Washington Amid Sanctions and the Threat of War Featuring Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, Fomer Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell
|
|
Lobe Log Foreign Policy: NIAC Report Reveals Disconnect Between Iran Sanctions' Goals and Results
Thursday, March 28, 2013
By: Farideh Farhi, Lobe Log Foreign Policy
As the NIAC report points out, in Iran's contested political terrain, what movers and shakers cannot do and have not done is call upon Iran's leadership to give in to demands and pressures that are identified as both unreasonable and harmful.
|
|
Foreign Policy: Our Myopic Approach to Iran
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
By: Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy
When historians of American foreign policy look back a few decades from now, they will shake their heads in wonder at the incompetence of the U.S. effort to deal with Iran. If you don't believe me, you should take a look at a new report from the National Iranian-American Council.
|
|
Lobe Log Foreign Policy: Iran's Nuclear Activities Go On Despite Sanctions
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
By: Jasmin Ramsey, Lobe Log Foreign Policy
"[Iran's nuclear programme] appears at best entirely unaffected by the sanctions or at worst partly driven by them in the sense that escalating sanctions as a bargaining chip also gives Iran the incentive to advance its program for the same reason," argue report authors Bijan Khajehpour, Reza Marashi and Trita Parsi.
|
|
Report: Why Sanctions On Iran Aren't Working
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
By: Bijan Khajehpour, Reza Marashi, & Trita Parsi (Special Report)
Iran is currently facing the most severe and strictest sanctions ever imposed on a country. Though these measures seek to curb Iranian nuclear ambitions, a recent IAEA report suggests continued nuclear advances by Iran. This begs the question: are sanctions affecting Tehran's nuclear calculus?
|
|
The Christian Science Monitor: Report: Sanctions may be speeding Iran's nuclear advancement
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
By: Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor
"It's critical to understand how massive pain is being channeled and absorbed in Iran, because just sitting there expecting pain to deliver results is somewhat naive." says coauthor Trita Parsi, president of NIAC.
|
|
NIAC Applauds Extension of Mandate for UN Iran Humans Rights Monitor
Friday, March 22, 2013
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC applauds the United Nations Human Rights Council's vote today to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran and reiterates its condemnation of the Iranian government's human rights abuses.
|
|
The Senate's 10-Year Iraq War Anniversary Gift: War With Iran
Thursday, March 14, 2013
By: Jamal Abdi (Special to Huffington Post)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and many of their Senate colleagues are busy wrapping up the perfect gift for a country who has been through everything: a new war of choice in the Middle East with Iran.
|
|
NIAC Calls on UN to Extend Human Rights Monitor Mandate, Condemns Iranian Government Abuses
Thursday, March 14, 2013
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC calls on the UNHRC to vote next week in support of renewing the mandate for the monitor, which represents an important multilateral mechanism to address Iran's human rights situation.
|
|
Senators Push Promise to Support Israeli Strikes on Iran
Friday, March 1, 2013
By: Jamal Abdi - News Analysis
New legislation calls for the U.S. to provide support for Israel should its government decide to launch military strikes on Iran.
|
|
Experts Offer Follow-Up Analysis of Almaty Talks on Capitol Hill
Friday, March 1, 2013
By: Sina Toossi - News
In the wake of talks between Iran and six world powers, NIAC hosted experts from Pugwash and Harvard's Belfer Center for an analysis on Capitol Hill.
|
|
A New Paradigm for Iranian Nuclear Talks?
Thursday, February 28, 2013
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis (special to The Diplomat)
Though the gap between the two sides is still wide, the fact that two additional meetings were scheduled without any Iranian foot-dragging -- in the midst of the Iranian holiday season mind you -- may also signal increased seriousness.
|
|
Khaleej Times: Rare Optimism in Iran Nuclear Dispute
Thursday, February 28, 2013
By: Khaleej Times
'In past meetings, the approach centred on coercion: the main motivator for concessions was the threat of new sanctions and other escalatory steps,' said NIAC's Trita Parsi. 'That approach has failed as Iran responded with its own escalation."
|
|
Bloomberg: Iran Nuclear Talks Bring Signs of Potential Progress
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
By: Indira A.R. Lakshmanan & Nariman Gizitdinov (Bloomberg)
"For the first time, the two sides seemed to be really negotiating," said NIAC President Trita Parsi. "Past meetings resembled stare-offs with both sides trying to look tough while issuing threats. This time, they engaged in a give and take."
|
|
Washington Post: Iran Nuclear Talks End on Upbeat Note
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
By: Joby Warrick and Jason Rezaian (Washington Post)
"While an agreement to meet again may not impress skeptics of diplomacy," said NIAC President Trita Parsi, "an important development did occur: The parties began searching for a solution."
|
|
New York Times: Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Measure to Toughen Iranian Sanctions
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
By: Rick Gladstone (New York Times)
"If these things pass, they will certainly be a significant step toward a complete embargo," said NIAC President Trita Parsi. He said the Iranian leaders, always paranoid about American intentions, were likely to view the legislation "very carefully."
|
|
On Heels of Argo Oscar, Former Hostages Say U.S. and Iran Must Break "Wall of Mistrust"
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
By: Solmaz Elmi-Sarabi - News
Ambassadors Bruce Laingen and John Limbert two former hostages held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran called for increased diplomacy at a Capitol Hill press conference.
|
|
Minnesota Daily: University professors Close TCF Bank Accounts
Monday, February 25, 2013
By: Tyler Gieseke (Minnesota Daily)
A group of 14 professors sent a letter to TCF Bank protesting the bank's notice to close eight Iranian students' accounts and promised to move their direct deposit accounts in defiance of the bank's actions. All have done so. Students, faculty and organizations like NIAC spoke out after the Iranian students received account closure letters in late December without explanation.
|
|
Gulf Times: Iran Unrelenting Ahead of Almaty Talks
Sunday, February 24, 2013
By: Gulf Times
"Right now, the West is coming across as more eager to move the process forward, but without offering anything that Tehran finds valuable," said NIAC's Trita Parsi. Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the last say in all foreign policy matters, has effectively rejected the offer of direct US talks and appeared to order a tough line in Almaty.
|
|
New Congressional Push to Prevent War, Establish Diplomatic Envoy to Iran
Thursday, February 21, 2013
By: Sina Toossi - News
Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) and ten of her colleagues are renewing a push to establish a Special Envoy to Iran who would lead efforts to pursue a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear dispute, prevent war, and support human rights.
|
|
Low Expectations for Quick Progress on Iranian Nuclear Issue Ahead of Negotiations
Thursday, February 21, 2013
By: Solmaz Elmi-Sarabi - News
With a new round of negotiations scheduled between Iran and the P5+1 next week, Thomas Pickering and Kenneth Pollack examined strategies for resolving the nuclear standoff.
|
|
Bloomberg: Risk of Military Strike Wanes as Iran Talks Resume
Thursday, February 21, 2013
By: Indira A.R. Lakshmanan (Bloomberg)
"There remains a mismatch between what the two sides are demanding and what they are willing to put on the table," said NIAC President Trita Parsi. Sanctions have had the opposite of their intended effect and caused Iran to harden its position rather than concede, he said.
|
|
Hagel Nomination Faces Further Delay
Thursday, February 14, 2013
By: Solmaz Elmi-Sarabi - News
In what has turned out to be one of the most contentious confirmation fights in history, a vote on the nomination of Chuck Hagel to become Secretary of Defense was blocked by Republicans on the Senate floor today.
|
|
The Guardian: Some Iranian Students Complain of Discrimination Overseas
Thursday, February 14, 2013
By: Sune Engel Rasmussen (The Guardian)
Sanctions are aimed at the government in Tehran but policymakers were aware of their consequences, said NIAC's Jamal Abdi. "We mined the entire Iranian economy and then we expect civilians to be able to walk through these minefields, and that's not possible."
|
|
As NASA's Ferdowsi Inspires, Iranian Visa Obstacles Should Be Cleared
Thursday, February 14, 2013
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
As we celebrate our community's accomplishments in science and engineering fields, we must ensure that Iranians are not blocked from visa opportunities.
|
|
Report: Sanctions Are Primary Cause of Iranian Medicine Shortage
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
By: Nadia Hakim - News
Sanctions imposed by the West are the leading cause of medicine shortages in Iran according to a report published by the Woodrow Wilson Center.
|
|
Organizations Call for Obama to Allow Medicine and Humanitarian Trade with Iran
Thursday, February 7, 2013
By: NIAC Staff - News
Twenty-five organizations called on President Obama yesterday to ensure that existing U.S. sanctions on Iran do not block access for medicine, food, and basic humanitarian goods for Iranian civilians.
|
|
Washington And Tehran's Perpetual Search For The Upper Hand
Thursday, February 7, 2013
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis (Special to The Daily Beast)
Both Washington and Tehran agree on one point: They are both skeptical about the prospects of future diplomacy and suspicious of the other's intentions and capabilities for peace making.
|
|
Top Former General Warns Against Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Iran War
Thursday, February 7, 2013
By: Solmaz Elmi-Sarabi - News
The former Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned on Wednesday that a military strike on Iran would require the U.S. to occupy Iran for "tens of years" and urged instead for a diplomatic solution.
|
|
NIAC President Testifies before British Parliament
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
By: United Kingdom Foreign Affairs Committee
NIAC President Trita Parsi testifies before the British Parliament's one-off evidence session on the Iran nuclear issue.
|
|
Huffington Post: Tightening The Noose
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
The research director at NIAC, Reza Marashi, speaks to Huffington Post Live on the latest U.S sanctions on Iran.
|
|
BBC Newshour: Should the U.S. Bomb Iran's Nuclear Capacity?
Monday, February 4, 2013
By: BBC Newshour
Should the U.S. military use force to destroy Iran's nuclear capacity? NIAC's Reza Marashi and Elliott Abrams from the Council on Foreign Relations discuss.
|
|
Al Jazeera: Iran's Media - The New Red Lines
Saturday, February 2, 2013
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
Reza Marashi from the US-based National Iranian-American Council offers essential perspective, and the countervailing voice is Hillary Mann Leverett.
|
|
NIAC Calls for Release of Iranian Journalists
Friday, February 1, 2013
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC condemns the Iranian government's recent arrests of at least 14 journalists in Tehran, an act that demonstrates the government's continued brazen disregard for freedom of expression.
|
|
Video: What If We're Wrong about Sanctions
Friday, February 1, 2013
By: NIAC Staff
What effect do broad economic sanctions have on democratization and respect for human rights in embargoed countries? Watch this eye-opening video to learn if these sanctions help or hinder democratization.
|
|
Experts Discuss Delays and Future Negotiations on Iran Nuclear Issue
Thursday, January 31, 2013
By: Nadia Hakim - News
With a new round of nuclear negotiations involving the U.S. and Iran facing continued delays, experts analyzed the future of U.S.-Iran diplomacy at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
|
|
Iranian Students Hit by Sanctions on Schools, Banks
Thursday, January 31, 2013
By: Brett Cox - News
Iranian students are facing new obstacles to pay for college tuition and even to enroll in universities in the U.S. and Europe due to increasingly broad sanctions.
|
|
Washington Post: Iranian Ministry Says Detained Journalists Worked Illegally with Foreign News Media
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
By: Jason Rezaian (Washington Post)
"It signals that they are concerned about a repeat of what happened after the contested elections in 2009," said Reza Marashi, Research Director at NIAC.
|
|
Pacifia Radio: Sanctions Spark Health Crisis in Iran
Monday, January 28, 2013
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
As U.S. and E.U. sanctions tighten around Iran, we'll explore the impact of these sanctions on access to essential medicines and medical equipment for ordinary Iranians. With shortages increasing and more life-saving medicines becoming unavailable, is Iran reaching a crisis point? We'll speak with Reza Marashi from the National Iranian American Council about the health impact of sanctions, as well as what we might expect from the politics and policies of the Obama administration's second term.
|
|
Washington Post: Sanctions Squeeze Iranian Students Abroad
Saturday, January 26, 2013
By: Tara Bahrampour (Washington Post)
"While it's still legally possible to get money out of Iran, it's extremely difficult, and in some cases it seems to be all but impossible. Banks that will still do business with Iranian banks will only do it if it's a very large amount," says NIAC's David Elliott.
|
|
Why Is Tehran Procrastinating?
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis (special to Huffington Post)
There is both annoyance and frustration in Washington over Tehran's unwillingness to agree on the venue for the next round of talks over Iran's nuclear activities. The two sides have agreed on a date -- January 28-29 -- but it will likely have to be rescheduled due to Tehran's procrastination over the venue choice.
|
|
TIME: Why Tehran Plays Hard to Get on Nuclear Diplomacy
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By: Tony Karon (TIME)
"The fact that Russia has publicly demanded that the U.S. show greater flexibility is a sign that the package being offered by the P5+1 is unlikely to interest Iran," says NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi.
|
|
AL-Monitor: Year-Old Virtual US Embassy in Iran Tallies Its Hits and Misses
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By: Barbara Slavin (Al-Monitor)
"Neatly packaged public diplomacy like the virtual embassy is not a substitute for compelling policies -- and actual results -- that matter to the Iranian people, like the multiple-entry visa policy change in 2011. This is particularly true at a time when sanctions and government mismanagement are really starting to hurt the people that America says it seeks to help." Says Reza Marashi
|
|
IPS: Devil Is in the Details for Iran Nuclear Deal
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By: Jasmin Ramsey (IPS)
"The mainstream view of Iran's opposition" which "calls for the regime to be more transparent and flexible with regard to its nuclear program, but also calls for the U.S. and E.U. to lift sanctions and acknowledge Iran's right to enrich on Iranian soil." Said NIAC's Reza Marashi
|
|
Obama's Moment of Truth on Iran
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
By: Reza Marashi (special to Foreign Policy)
As Barack Obama begins his second term as president, the United States faces a moment of truth in its slow-burning conflict with Iran. Fortunately, re-elected presidents have a unique mandate to pursue game-changing policies -- and Obama has a particular opportunity to reverse America's failing strategy toward Iran.
|
|
NPR: U.S., Iran Running Low On Options Over Nuclear Program
Friday, January 18, 2013
By: Tom Gjelten (NPR)
With time running out on efforts to monitor Iran's nuclear program, 2013 could well be the year when the United States must decide whether to take military action to block Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
|
|
Al-Monitor: Obama Urged to Step Up Diplomacy on Iran
Thursday, January 17, 2013
By: Laura Rozen (Al-Monitor)
"The US and Europe have been very effective at implementing draconian sanctions on Iran. The hitch is that Washington's "unwillingness to use that leverage as a bargaining chip has turned sanctions into a blunt instrument causing minimal change to Tehran's strategic calculus," wrote NIAC's Reza Marashi at the National Interest.
|
|
RT: Deadly US-Iran Sanctions
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
RT talks to NIAC Policy Director, Jamal Abdi, about crippling Iran sanctions and how to invoke true US-Iran diplomacy.
|
|
TIME: The Year We Reckon with Iran
Monday, January 14, 2013
By: Fareed Zakaria (TIME)
Former State Department official Reza Marashi details Washington's mistakes and missed opportunities in negotiating with Iran. He points out that on two occasions when the Iranians essentially agreed to American parameters, Washington moved the goal posts.
|
|
CNN: Nuclear Iran, War, or...?
Monday, January 14, 2013
By: Fareed Zakaria (CNN)
Fareed Zakaria quotes Reza Marashi's article in the Cairo Review of Global Affairs: "Tehran has recently signaled its willingness to compromise...numerous P5+1 officials have acknowledged that the Iranians focused their bottom line on uranium enrichment at the 3.5 percent level and sanctions relief."
|
|
Jewish Daily Forward: Chuck Hagel Failure May Haunt Hawks
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
By: Laura Rozen (Forward.com)
NIAC's Trita Parsi says that because Hagel has not thrown out loose war talk, it would make a credible threat of force versus Iran from them that much more credible. "In the sense that when someone like Chuck Hagel says the military option is on the table, it carries far more credibility," said Parsi.
|
|
National Journal: Hagel Pick Could Signal U.S. Policy Shift on Iran
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
By: Diane Barnes (National Journal)
The nominations "may be an indication of [Obama's] willingness to fight to create political space for his policies to a greater extent than he was during his first [term]," said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council.
|
|
Washington Post: New Iran Sanctions Target Industry
Sunday, January 6, 2013
By: Joby Warrick (Washington Post)
Last month a group of prominent U.S. diplomats, policy experts and national security officials urged Obama in a letter to "pursue a robust diplomatic initiative." "Behind the tough rhetoric, there are hidden signals of greater readiness to embrace a compromise," said NIAC's Trita Parsi who was one of the signers of the document.
|
|
Iran's Cyrus Cylinder Set To Make U.S. Debut
Monday, December 10, 2012
By: Negar Rafi - News
The British Museum has announced that the Cyrus Cylinder, widely viewed as the oldest known code of human rights, will go on exhibition in five U.S. museums in 2013.
|
|
New Sanctions Are Incremental Step to Iran War, Include No Medicine Fix
Friday, November 30, 2012
By: NIAC Statement
This is not the total embargo that hardliners were pushing, but is another incremental step towards the full exhaustion of sanctions and to a military endgame.
|
|
Study Predicts Stunning Costs for Diplomatic Failure with Iran
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
By: Dylan Zehr - News
A new Federation of American Scientists study estimates war with Iran could cost up to $1.8 trillion and new sanctions being considered by Congress would cost $64 billion.
|
|
Dealing with Iran
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis (special to The Cairo Review)
Success will only come if diplomats place a premium on patience and long-term progress rather than quick fixes aimed at appeasing domestic political constituencies. Few argue against the need to try, and no realistic alternative better serves U.S. national security imperatives. Diplomacy with Iran is a marathon, not a sprint.
|
|
New Study Outlines Impact of Broad Sanctions on Iranian Americans
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
ALC released a study today documenting the negative consequences of sanctions on Iranian Americans as part of a collaborative effort with IABA, PAAIA, and NIAC.
|
|
NIAC Condemns Human Rights Abuses Squeezing Iranians, With No Exceptions
Thursday, November 15, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
Over the past ten days we have witnessed two tragedies in which ordinary Iranians were killed under the gross repression of the Iranian government and the broad impact of crippling sanctions imposed by the U.S. government.
|
|
Iran Fact Check: Tell the Wall Street Journal to Stop Distorting Facts to Sell War
Thursday, October 25, 2012
By: NIAC Action Alert
Today, the Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece by the neoconservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) that promotes an outright distortion of the facts in order to argue for more crippling sanctions and potential military strikes on Iran.
|
|
Iran Fact Check: Top 5 Myths
Monday, October 22, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
Iran and its nuclear program will undoubtedly feature prominently in tonight's presidential debate on foreign policy. However, pervasive myths, distortions, and oversimplifications continue to distort the debate on Iran.
|
|
Lessons from the Iran-Iraq War
Monday, October 22, 2012
By: Dylan Zehr - News
Speaking about a new book that examines the interactions between the United States and Iran through the Iran-Iraq War, Bruce Riedel says history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.
|
|
Former Mossad Director Calls for Serious Negotiations with Iran
Monday, October 22, 2012
By: Dylan Zehr - News
"I don't think that we will benefit from bringing Iran publicly to its knees," said Efraim Halevy, former Mossad Director.
|
|
Don't Let Congress Give Netanyahu War Powers
Thursday, October 18, 2012
By: NIAC Action Alert
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) just revealed that he is introducing a measure pledging full U.S. support for Israel if Netanyahu bombs Iran.
|
|
NIAC Member Survey Shows Growing Concern about War and Sanctions
Thursday, October 18, 2012
By: Nobar Elmi - News
Concern about war with Iran has only intensified since our last member survey, and our members overwhelmingly chose to keep preventing war as NIAC's top priority.
|
|
Former Ambassadors Say U.S., Iran on Path to War
Monday, October 15, 2012
By: Brett Cox - News
"If I wanted Iran to get the bomb, I'd keep doing what we're doing," Robert Hunter, former US Ambassador to NATO, told a full house at NIAC's second Annual Leadership Conference. "And if I were Iran and wanted to get attacked, I'd keep doing what they're doing."
|
|
Huffington Post: Iran Sanctions - The Case for Humanitarian Waivers
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
By: Karim Pakravan
Sanctions can be an important tool of diplomacy, as long as they target their intended adversaries. If the West thinks for a moment that the dire healthcare situation will force the regime to succumb to the pressures of the sanctions in order to help the average Iranian, it should think again.
|
|
House Panel Dismisses Iran Talks, Considers Time for War
Thursday, September 27, 2012
By: Brett Cox - News
A House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on Israel's security last week quickly devolved into partisan attacks over the Obama administration's handling of Israeli relations and calls for a more confrontational U.S. approach towards Iran.
|
|
Senate Approves Iran Redlines, House Aims at Western Hemisphere
Thursday, September 27, 2012
By: NIAC News
The Senate passed new redlines for war with Iran while the House demanded a strategy to confront Iran in the Western Hemisphere.
|
|
NIAC Statement on Ahmadinejad UN Speech
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
We must not allow the words of a politically marginalized president who is on the last leg of his presidency to distract from the very serious human rights abuses that continue to occur in Iran and the looming threat of a disastrous war between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
|
|
HuffPost Live: Iranian Group Will Be Taken Off Watch List
Monday, September 24, 2012
By: Marc Lamont Hill (Huffington Post)
The State Department announced they will remove the Iranian dissident group MEK from their list of terrorist organizations. Has the group abandoned their violent past? HuffPost Live discusses the MEK's delisting with Hooman Majd, NIAC's Nobar Elmi, and other analysts.
|
|
MEK Delisting is a Gift to the Regime, a Disaster for the Iranian People and the U.S.
Friday, September 21, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
The delisting decision opens the door to Congressional funding of the MEK to conduct terrorist attacks in Iran, makes war with Iran far more likely, and will seriously damage Iran's peaceful pro-democracy movement as well as America's standing among ordinary Iranians.
|
|
Stop Last Minute Senate Vote to Adopt Netanyahu's War Red Line
Thursday, September 20, 2012
By: NIAC Action Alert
The Senate is poised to commit the U.S. to a red line for war demanded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposed by the Obama Administration.
|
|
New Senate Push for Iran War Red Lines as Netanyahu Ups Pressure
Thursday, September 20, 2012
By: NIAC News
A push to impose "red lines" on the President for war with Iran may be brought up today before the Senate adjourns.
|
|
Iran Fact Check: Revoke Netanyahu's Free Pass to Sell War
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
By: NIAC Action Alert
Today NIAC is launching Iran Fact Check (Iranfact.org) to provide the facts and tools to help the public hold the media and politicians accountable when they make false claims in support of another war.
|
|
BBC Persian: Who Beats the Drums of War?
Thursday, August 23, 2012
By: BBC Persian
BBC Persian interviews NIAC's President Trita Parsi on the threat of war from Israel and how the United States election plays a role.
|
|
HuffPost Live: Crying Wolf on War
Thursday, August 23, 2012
By: Mike Sacks (HuffPost Live)
Huff Post Live interviews NIAC's Policy Director, Jamal Abdi on the possibility of war with Iran.
|
|
The Cable: Obama administration allows earthquake relief money for Iran
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
By: Josh Rogin (The Cable)
The National Iranian American Council, a group representing Iranian-Americans, was also heavily involved in pushing for the issuance of the license.
|
|
BBC: US Allows NGOs to Send Money to Quake-Hit Iran
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
By: BBC News
"As pleased as we are with this, it also goes to remind us that the White House and EU sanctions are not meant to hit ordinary people but the government," said NIAC President Trita Parsi. "But in practice it's quite clear it's not that simple and it's the people who tend to get hit in such cases."
|
|
BBC Persian: US Issues Temporary Permit to Send Money to Iran for Earthquake-Stricken Areas
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
By: BBC Persian
Watch NIAC President Trita Parsi discuss the sanctions waiver for humanitarian relief issued by the Obama Administration.
|
|
NIAC Applauds General License for Earthquake Assistance
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC strongly applauds the White House for issuing a temporary general license authorizing charitable organizations to provide direct humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to the victims of the earthquakes in northwest Iran.
|
|
NIAC & WAC Initiate Call with White House on Disaster Relief
Friday, August 17, 2012
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC welcomes the White House's decision to hold a conference call with the Iranian American community about how they can provide disaster relief to the Iranian people.
|
|
Muftah: The Iranian Nuclear Issue & Sanctions
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
By: #MuftahChat (Muftah.org)
NIAC's Research Director Reza Marashi shared his insight on the current state of negotiations, the most recent saber rattling against Iran by the Israeli government, as well as prospects for the future on #MuftahChat (Twitter)
|
|
Democracy Now: From Military Threats to Crippling Sanctions
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
By: Amy Goodman (Democracy Now)
U.S.-Israel Posturing on Iran Stokes Fears of War. Democracy Now interviews NIAC's President, Trita Parsi
|
|
FAQ: How You Can Help the Earthquake Victims [Updated]
Monday, August 13, 2012
By: NIAC Staff
NIAC has received a flurry of emails over the past weekend with questions about how Iranian Americans can help in assisting with relief efforts of the earthquake aftermath in northern Iran.
|
|
McClatchy: Sanctions stymie Iranian-Americans who want to help quake victims
Monday, August 13, 2012
By: Alex Kane Rudansky (McClatchy News)
"Technically there are exemptions, but in many cases you'll find there are no banks that will actually facilitate the transactions," NIAC's David Elliott said.
|
|
Don't Let Sanctions Block Relief for Iran's Earthquake Victims
Sunday, August 12, 2012
By: NIAC Staff - Action Alert
Because of sanctions on Iran, U.S. relief organizations need a license to provide humanitarian assistance to earthquake victims in Iran. Urge President Obama to issue a license so that these organizations can provide aid to the Iranian people in their time of need.
|
|
Israel's Diplomatic Scare Game
Thursday, August 9, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis (special to Salon.com)
Like clockwork, another flurry of high-level senior U.S. officials visiting Israel took place this past week. As has become tradition, Iran topped the agenda. And once again, Israeli officials threatened to take unilateral military action unless the U.S. upped the ante on Iran.
|
|
NIAC Urges SWIFT to Maintain Services for Humanitarian Causes in Iran
Thursday, August 9, 2012
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC today sent a letter to the CEO of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), urging the international organization to maintain services for humanitarian causes in Iran.
|
|
ABC News: Iran Invokes Its 'Axis of Resistance'
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
By: Eleanor Hall (ABC News)
Iran is revealing just how high the stakes have become in the Syrian conflict, by sending its security chief to meet with its key regional ally. ABC interviews NIAC's Reza Marashi.
|
|
New Iran Sanctions Undermine Diplomacy and Human Rights
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC supports an effective approach to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, protect human rights in Iran, and support the democratic future that Iranians have aspired to for over a century. This bill is not that approach.
|
|
AP: Panetta asks Israel for patience on Iran
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
By: Robert Burns (Associated Press)
The National Iranian American Council, which seeks to promote better relations between the two countries, denounced the latest sanctions. "The bill imposes collective punishment on the Iranian people by seeking to destroy the Iranian economy," said the council's policy director, Jamal Abdi.
|
|
NIAC, Coalition Urge Congress Not to Block Food and Medicine to Iran
Monday, July 30, 2012
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC joined the Friends Committee on National Legislation and nine other national organizations to urge the U.S. Congress to reject proposed sanctions legislation that would cut off humanitarian items to Iran, such as food, medicine, and family remittances.
|
|
IPS: Iran Diplomacy Runs into Sanctions-Happy U.S. Congress
Monday, July 30, 2012
By: Jasmin Ramsey (IPS)
NIAC's Jamal Abdi told IPS that even the mere "threat" of the new sanctions, "have had a negative effect on the Iran nuclear talks and limited the president's ability to use sanctions as a tool for leverage."
|
|
Chicago Tribune: Father's Religion Behind His Imprisonment in Iran
Sunday, July 15, 2012
By: Frank Danna (Chicago Tribune)
Prominent Iranians wrote an open letter saying they are ashamed of the way Baha'is are treated in Iran. Over the years, harassment of Baha'is from average Iranian citizens slowed, Nakhaei said, and some experts agree. "I think the majority of Iranian people, like we do (in the United States), want to live peacefully with their neighbors," said NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi.
|
|
Sanctions at the Genius Bar
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis (special to The New York Times)
Congress and President Obama have ratcheted up sanctions and now must confront the inevitable unintended consequences. Sanctions are no longer just choking off Iran but jeopardizing the values and basic civil liberties of some American citizens.
|
|
Letter to Apple from Coalition of Iranian American and Civil Liberties Organization
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
By: NIAC News
NIAC and a coalition of Iranian-American and civil rights organizations sent a letter to Apple demanding that the company investigate alleged discrimination, train its staff to enforce a non-discriminatory policy, and issue an apology.
|
|
Romney Advisor Says an Attack Cannot Solve Iran Issue; Calls for More Military Threats
Monday, June 25, 2012
By: Roshan Alemi - News
"The military option is not a particularly satisfying option. It affords no permanent solution to the problem," acknowledged a senior advisor to Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.
|
|
Apple's 'Iran Policy' Shows Why We Can't Shy Away from Politics
Friday, June 22, 2012
By: Nobar Elmi & Jamal Abdi (special to Tehran Bureau)
None of us should be surprised that this is happening. Unintended consequences are the reality of broad sanctions. Given this reality, it's time to face the music. While some of us in our community may shy away from politics, we must recognize: this is a political issue, pure and simple. U.S.-Iranian relations affect all of us here at home in the United States, not just our friends and family members in Iran.
|
|
Virginia Democrats Endorse Diplomacy with Iran
Thursday, June 21, 2012
By: Ariana Romero - News
The Democratic Party of Virginia voted unanimously to support diplomacy with Iran and to urge its Members of Congress to oppose efforts that would undermine talks with Iran.
|
|
NIAC Calls on Apple and US Government to End Sanctions Discrimination
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC calls on Apple to take immediate steps to ensure its policies do not discriminate against Iranian Americans and Iranians in the U.S. and on the U.S. government to take the necessary steps to ensure sanctions do not continue to be misapplied or over-enforced.
|
|
NIAC Statement on Iran Talks Concluding in Moscow
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
"While the parties should be commended for pursuing a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff, it is clear the two sides are not yet committed to doing everything necessary to avert a crisis. With each side having limitations on what they could give, but not on what they could demand, the inability to reach a deal should not take anyone by surprise."
|
|
MEK Working Through Senate to Sabotage Iran Diplomacy
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
By: NIAC Staff - News
Affiliates of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, are claiming to be behind a major letter from the Senate aimed at curtailing U.S. diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute.
|
|
Dobbins: Enrichment Ultimatums and Threats Undermine U.S. Goals on Iran
Thursday, June 14, 2012
By: NIAC Staff - News
"In keeping the position that that Iranian nuclear capability is unacceptable, we in effect are failing to put in place the kind of instruments that actually discourage them from crossing that threshold," says Ambassador James Dobbins.
|
|
Cleveland Jewish News: Negotiate to Keep Iran Free of Nuclear Weapons
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
By: Marilyn H. Karfeld (Cleveland Jewish News)
Getting Iran to deal with the West and to encourage a free exchange of ideas is the ultimate goal, said NIAC's Jamal Abdi. "Our policy of sanctions and isolation runs counter to this. The Khamenei regime thrives on this." He added, "There is no military solution" to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. "You can't bomb away the knowledge" Iran has on enriching uranium and building a nuclear weapon.
|
|
California Senate Passes Resolution Honoring Iranian Americans, Supporting Human Rights in Iran
Thursday, May 31, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC commends Senator Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) California State Senate for unanimously passing Senate Resolution 29 recognizing the contributions of the Iranian-American community and calling upon the Iranian government to provide basic human rights and political freedoms to its citizens.
|
|
Watch: Experts Assess Baghdad Talks at NIAC Panel
Friday, May 25, 2012
By: NIAC Staff
As nuclear negotiations between Iran, the U.S., and the other permanent members of the UN Security Council concluded in Baghdad on Thursday, top experts and former U.S. officials convened at a panel hosted by the National Iranian American Council to assess the outcomes.
|
|
NIAC Statement on Conclusion of Baghdad Talks
Thursday, May 24, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
As talks between Iran the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) conclude, all parties should be commended for returning to the negotiating table. Both sides entered negotiations with their maximalist positions, and neither budged. Looking ahead, now the hard work begins.
|
|
"Getting to Yes" With Iran Starts at Home
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion (special to Huffington Post)
There is only one way to break a 34-year-old deadlock: break the rules. America and Iran must talk to each other and trade compromises of equal value in order to break down the hostility and misperceptions that paralyze our relations. Only by taking risks for peace will leaders in Washington and Tehran have the necessary deliverables to beat back critics and spoilers.
|
|
Tehran Bureau: How to Engage Iran in Baghdad - Toward a Win-Win Strategy
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
By: Angie Ahmadi (special to Tehran Bureau)
The recent nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 sparked optimism that the decade-long dispute could be resolved. Positive anticipation of the next round of talks in Baghdad has been amplified by Tehran's softened rhetoric. But how should Iran's seeming appetite for compromise be utilized by the West to build "a sustained process of dialogue"?
|
|
House Vote on Iran Is No Endorsement of "Zero Enrichment" Redline
Thursday, May 17, 2012
By: NIAC Statement
The pro-peace community won an important battle this week as opposition to H.Res.568 and its Senate companion forced the bills' sponsors to address dangerous ambiguities in the legislation.
|
|
Update on Persepolis Tablets, Diplomacy and "Redlines"
Thursday, May 17, 2012
By: Jamal Abdi
We accomplished a number of goals, including protections for the Persepolis Tablets, votes to make clear there is no authorization for war with Iran and to support diplomacy, and a rejection of shifting the redline for war and placing a "zero enrichment" ultimatum on U.S.-Iran talks.
|
|
Huffington Post: House Voting to Shift U.S. Redline for War with Iran
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
Today the House is planning to take up H.Res.568 -- a resolution that shifts the U.S. redline for war with Iran -- on a suspension vote. There has not been a single hearing on this measure and no debate about its very serious implications
|
|
Urgent: Congress Voting on Pro-War Iran Resolution Today
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
By: Action Alert
Please take a moment to call to your Member of Congress to tell him or her to vote NO on H.Res.568 and to demand language stating that there is no authorization for war with Iran.
|
|
Is Israel Flirting with Iranian Terrorists?
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis (special to The Daily Beast)
NBC reported that Israel financed, trained and armed the MEK to carry out deadly attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists. That it collaborated with a fundamentally anti-Israeli, Marxist-Islamist terror organization was surprising as was the Obama administration's decision to divulge this information and embarrass its close ally publicly.
|
|
Dysfunctional Congress Threatens Iran Talks
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
By: David Elliott - Analysis (special to Huffington Post)
As the United States and Iran look for an exit ramp off the road to war, they may find a surprising new obstacle: the very sanctions legislation that many credit for bringing Iran back to the negotiating table.
|
|
Democracy and Human Rights Conference Honors Siamak Pourzand
Thursday, April 26, 2012
By: Angie Ahmadi - News
Prominent journalists and human rights defenders convened in Washington for a conference on human rights assessing why the so-called Arab Awakening succeeded while Iran's century-long struggle for democracy stalled once again after the 2009 protests.
|
|
Obama Implements New Sanctions Targeting Internet Repression in Iran and Syria
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
By: NIAC News
President Obama signed an Executive Order yesterday implementing new sanctions against Iran and Syria regarding Internet repression. The measures would freeze assets of foreign companies that help deny free communication via the Internet in Iran and Syria.
|
|
For the Sake of Europe, Sarkozy Must Stand Down
Saturday, April 14, 2012
By: Reza Marashi and Trita Parsi (special to Al Jazeera)
As nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 commence, both sides are talking tough in public to mask their private urgency. As the conflict escalates, the US, Iran and Israel almost always occupy the headlines. However, no less important is the complicating role being played by France under President Nicolas Sarkozy.
|
|
KPFA Radio Interviews Reza Marashi on Iran Nuclear Talks
Saturday, April 14, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis (KPFA.org)
KPFA Radio interviews NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi on the recent nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 in Istanbul.
|
|
The National Interest: Will Khamenei Compromise?
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
By: Reza Marashi and Ali Reza Eshraghi
Ayatollah Khamenei's repression against his own people is well documented, but history contradicts the skeptics of his willingness to bargain. Khamenei is a cunning authoritarian, but he is not opposed to the right deal.
|
|
Broad Coalition Calls for Congress to Support Diplomacy, Oppose War of Choice
Thursday, April 5, 2012
By: NIAC News
With rising concerns of war with Iran, twenty-six leading Iranian-American, Jewish-American, Muslim-American, arms control, human rights, pro-democracy, pro-peace, and faith organizations called for Congress to support a diplomatic resolution and make clear there is no authorization for war.
|
|
Congressional "Happy Birthday Israel" Resolution Endorses Strikes on Iran
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
By: NIAC News
A controversial new measure in the House of Representatives, presented as a commemoration of the 64th birthday of the State of Israel, includes language endorsing Israeli military action on Iran.
|
|
Say No To War and Lift the "No Contact" Policy with Iran!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
By: NIAC Staff
A new push is underway in Congress to support diplomacy, prevent war, and effectively address human rights. Learn more about this critical effort and how you can help make it a success.
|
|
Ambassador Cautions Senate against Lowering Threshold for War with Iran
Monday, April 2, 2012
By: Richard Abott - News
A former U.S. ambassador to the UN and Israel cautioned the Senate against lowering the threshold for war against Iran at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, even as a majority of U.S. Senators have embraced a resolution that would do exactly that.
|
|
RT: Blind Sanctions Backfire on the West
Friday, March 30, 2012
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
There's panic at the pumps in the UK, where a threatened strike by fuel delivery drivers has already seen stations running dry. There are even fears the army may be deployed to keep the country moving. NIAC Policy Director Jamal Abdi says the West can only blame itself for the spike in prices.
|
|
Iranian Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Military Strikes
Thursday, March 29, 2012
By: Jacob Martin - News
Amidst ever-heightening tension between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, a new poll found that approximately two-thirds (63%) of Iranian-Americans oppose U.S. military strikes against Iran, while only 13% would be in favor of such action.
|
|
BBC: WikiLeaks - The Secret Life of a Superpower
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
By: BBC Two
The BBC has produced a two-part series entitled, "WikiLeaks: The Secret Life of a Superpower." For its report on Iran, interviewees included NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi, Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden. The Iran report starts at the 39:50 mark.
|
|
Huffington Post: Applying the Lessons of South Africa Sanctions to Iran
Monday, March 26, 2012
By: Beheshteh Farshneshani - Analysis
Advocates of Iran sanctions often cite South Africa as the model for a successful sanction regime that dismantled its nuclear program and transitioned to a democracy. But NIAC Associate Beheshteh Farshneshani assesses the empirical evidence and recent comments by the last president of the apartheid regime to detail quite the opposite.
|
|
Take Action: Lift the "No Contact" Policy with Iran!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
By: NIAC Action Alert
Direct talks are the only way to prevent war, resolve the nuclear standoff, and put mechanisms in place to effectively address human rights abuses in Iran and create space for Iran's pro-democracy movement. Write your Representative and tell them to stand up for diplomacy and against war by cosponsoring H.R.4173 today.
|
|
Background: The Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons and Stop War through Diplomacy Act (H.R.4173)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
By: NIAC Staff
On March 8, 2012, Rep. Barbara Lee introduced new legislation to support direct Iran negotiations, lift the "no contact policy," and prohibit funding for war with Iran.
|
|
NIAC Applauds Efforts to Address Growing "Electronic Curtain" Over Iran
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC welcomes the decision by the Obama Administration to lift sanctions on additional categories of personal communication tools to support the free exchange of information with the Iranian people.
|
|
Radio Free Europe: U.S. Announces Measures To Fight Tehran's "Electronic Curtain"
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
By: Golnaz Esfandiari (Radio Free Europe)
President Obama has announced measures to facilitate the Iranian public's access to electronic information. "There's certain software that the U.S. government would like these companies to be able to offer, but they have to get a special license in order to do that," said NIAC Policy Director Jamal Abdi. "This is a statement saying, 'If you apply for this license, you'll get it,' essentially. "
|
|
RT: War Games - Israeli Strike on Iran
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
According to a classified war simulation, if Israel were to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, it would lead to a wider regional war, which could draw in the US and leave hundreds of Americans dead. NIAC Policy Director Jamal Abdi discusses why the US should be concerned that it's already gotten to this point.
|
|
Al Jazeera: "Paid" to Support Iranian Terrorists
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
By: Inside Story Americas (Al Jazeera)
Since its creation in 1997 the US list of terrorist organisations has included the Iranian group, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). Now the US Treasury Department has launched an inquiry into whether US officials are being paid by the MEK to speak, which would be a violation of US laws. Joining Inside Story Americas' debate are NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi, Glenn Greenwald, and Patrick Clawson.
|
|
Anti-War Radio interviews NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi
Saturday, March 17, 2012
By: Scott Horton (AntiWar.com)
Anti-War Radio's Scott Horton interviews NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi who discusses his article "Money vs. Facts: The Mujahedin-e Khalq Is a Terrorist Organization" about the chorus of voices turning the tables on the MEK's latest PR campaign.
|
|
Money vs. Facts - The Mujahedin-e Khalq Is a Terrorist Organization
Thursday, March 15, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion (special to Huffington Post)
A massive lobbying push to delist the MEK has been raging inside the beltway for the past year. However, the U.S. government now has more evidence to warrant a swift confirmation of the MEK's terrorist designation. It's time for the Obama administration to stop playing politics and start enforcing the law.
|
|
Momentum Shifts Against Iran War
Thursday, March 15, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis (special to Al-Monitor)
US President Barack Obama did what few people expected him to do at the recent conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a hawkish pro-Israel group. He chose that moment to shift his strategy from out-hawking the hawks (which is next to impossible) to outsmarting them.
|
|
U.N. Human Rights Monitor Delivers First Report on Iran
Thursday, March 15, 2012
By: Richard Abott - News
Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, submitted his first report to the U.N. Human Rights Council this week, cataloguing "allegations that produce a striking pattern of violations of fundamental human rights guaranteed under international law."
|
|
New Bill Supports Direct Talks to Prevent U.S.-Iran War, Scraps "No Contact Policy"
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
By: Beheshteh Farshneshani - News
A longstanding U.S. policy that prevents American diplomats from communicating with their Iranian counterparts is the focus of a new House bill aimed at reinvigorating U.S.-Iran diplomacy.
|
|
Iran's Parliamentary Vote - The Beginning of the End of Ahmadinejad
Monday, March 12, 2012
By: Hengameh Ahmadi - Opinion (special to Huffington Post)
Last Friday, Iran held its first elections since the 2009 presidential contest, after which millions of voters poured into Tehran's streets. Unrest following the announced re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad culminated in mass detention, torture and the death of many protesters. It also led to the near-elimination of pro-reform political forces in the Islamic Republic.
|
|
RT: Tensions in the Middle East
Saturday, March 10, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
RT interviews Reza Marashi on heightened U.S.-Iran tensions, Iran's nuclear program, and the geopolitical conflict playing out in Syria.
|
|
Jon Stewart Interviews NIAC President Trita Parsi on The Daily Show
Friday, March 9, 2012
By: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Watch Jon Stewart's full interview with NIAC President Trita Parsi as he discusses U.S.-Iranian diplomacy during the Bush and the Obama administrations on The Daily Show.
|
|
Which Side's Hardliners Will Sabotage US-Iran Diplomacy? Enter Romney and Lieberman
Friday, March 9, 2012
By: Jamal Abdi - Opinion (special to Huffington Post)
We're at a rare moment in which both the United States and Iran have unclenched their fists and appear ready for real talks. Which side's hardliners will screw things up this time?
|
|
CNN: War Drums from Iran and Israel Drown Out Rich Past
Thursday, March 8, 2012
By: Joe Sterling (CNN)
The saber-rattling between Iran and Israel conjures fears of mass casualties and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. The tough talk makes it easy to forget that Israel and Iran have not always been enemies, and in fact have had a rich and nuanced relationship dating back thousands of years. They have enjoyed an "overwhelmingly positive connection" for centuries, said NIAC President Trita Parsi.
|
|
Mondoweiss: AIPAC-Backed Resolutions are "Blank Check for War"
Thursday, March 8, 2012
By: Alex Kane (Mondoweiss.net)
Amidst the incessant Israeli war mongering, the Occupy AIPAC counter-summit tried to insert some reality into the discussion. Speaking at a press conference at the National Press Club was NIAC Policy Director Jamal Abdi, former State Department official Ann Wright, and retired U.S. Navy Commander Leah Bolger.
|
|
CNN: Iran's Nuclear Program
Thursday, March 8, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
CNN's Brooke Baldwin talks to NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi about updates in the Iran nuclear crisis and a positive signal for negotiations.
|
|
The Conversation with Ross Reynolds: Iran, Nukes and America's Options
Thursday, March 8, 2012
By: David Hyde (KUOW.org)
US policy on Iran is a major issue in the 2012 presidential race. We take a closer look at the politics with NIAC Policy Director Jamal Abdi who discusses divisions within the Iranian community in the Northwest. Joining the conversation are Jonathan S. Landay and Scott Peterson.
|
|
ABC News Radio: Iran Agrees to Nuclear Talks
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
By: Tanya Nolan (ABC News)
US president Barack Obama hosed down talk of military action and state, in front of the influential pro-Israel lobby, that Iran's nuclear program isn't an immediate threat and that more support is needed for direct negotiations. "I think in an election season that is a very brave political risk that he has taken," said NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi. "And on the Iranian side, they have rescinded a death sentence that was improperly placed upon an Irani-American that was visiting his grandmother."
|
|
BBC World Interview Reza Marashi on US-Iran-Israel Tensions
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
BBC World News interviews NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi on tensions between the U.S., Iran and Israel, and the prospects for diplomacy during a tense election year.
|
|
France 24: What Does the Future Hold for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
The ultra-conservative allies of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fallen out of favour with, came out victorious in the first round of legislative elections. France 24 spoke with NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi to discuss the shape of things to come for Ahmadinejad as he nears the end of his term.
|
|
The Mark Steiner Show Interviews NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
By: Mark Steiner (WEAA)
Mark Steiner assesses the threat of military action against Iran with Reza Marashi, Research Director for the National Iranian American Council, and Michael Rubin, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and former Pentagon Official .
|
|
NPR: The US, Israel and Efforts to Halt Iran's Nuclear Program
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
By: Diane Rehm (NPR)
On the Diane Rehm Show, a panel of experts discuss the U.S., Israel and their differing approaches to Iran's nuclear ambitions. Panelists included NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi, Paul Pillar, Aaron David Miller, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi.
|
|
KCRW's To The Point: Obama, Netanyahu and the Threat of a Nuclear Iran
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
By: Warren Olney (KCRW)
Just as President Obama's agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israel has the right to attack Iran's nuclear program, there's a proposal for renewed diplomacy. Europe, Russia, China and the US have accepted Iran's invitation for renewal of talks that broke down more than a year ago. Are upcoming new sanctions already working, or will this be just another effort to kick the can down the road? Has Netanyahu's visit to Washington altered the prospects for armed conflict in the Middle East? NIAC President Trita Parsi joins a panel of experts to examine these issues.
|
|
New York Times: Iranian Court Orders Retrial for American in Spy Case
Monday, March 5, 2012
By: J. David Goodman (New York Times)
The Supreme Court of Iran has tossed out the death penalty conviction of a former Marine accused of spying and ordered a retrial in a separate court. It was unclear whether the Supreme Court's reported decision to order a new trial represented a political decision in the Iranian hierarchy to offer a diplomatic gesture. "I think the government itself understood that this very quick death sentence, the timing of it, was not good for them," said NIAC President Trita Parsi. "They want to make sure they keep this going, so they can use him as a bargaining chip."
|
|
Top Military, Intelligence Officials Join NIAC in Warning Against Iran War in Full-Page Washington Post Ad
Monday, March 5, 2012
By: NIAC Staff - News
If you open the Washington Post this morning, you will find an ad featuring top former military and intelligence officials urging President Obama to resist the pressure for a war of choice with Iran.
|
|
Military.com: Retired Gens to Obama: No War of Choice With Iran
Monday, March 5, 2012
By: Bryant Jordan (Military.com)
Several former high-ranking military, intelligence and State Department officials took out an ad in the Washington Post today which was sponsored by National Iranian American Council and urged President Obama to stand fast against political and lobbying pressure to attack Iran over claims it is trying to develop nuclear weapons. The letter, signed by five retired generals, two senior intelligence analysts and a senior State Department official, is accompanied by a photo and quotes from other current military and defense officials warning against such an attack.
|
|
The Guardian: Israel and Iran, Straining at the Leash
Monday, March 5, 2012
By: Guardian.co.uk
In President Obama's AIPAC speech, he told Israelis that America had a commitment to maintain Israel's military edge. What he did not retreat from were the repeated statements by senior administration officials doubting Israel's military capability against Iran. For the US military to be as aggressive as that about the military capability of its closest ally testifies to a dialogue that is tougher in private than it is in public. The National Iranian American Council ran an ad signed by an array of military brass urging the president to say no to a war of choice with Iran. The US military feels it has not been through two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, only to be bounced into a third.
|
|
Huffington Post: Obama Draws Red Lines and Distinctions on Iran in AIPAC Speech
Sunday, March 4, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Opinion
The dispute on the nuclear issue is centered on red lines. Israel, like the Bush administration, considers a nuclear capability in Iran a red line. It argues that the only acceptable guarantee that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon is for Iran to have no enrichment program. The Obama administration puts the red line not at enrichment -- which is permitted under international law -- but at nuclear weapons. This is a clearer, more enforceable red line that also has the force of international law behind it.
|
|
Thirty-Seven Members of Congress Urge Obama to Redouble Iran Diplomacy, Warn Against War
Saturday, March 3, 2012
By: NIAC News
Members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama on Friday calling for direct, sustained diplomacy with Iran to resolve the nuclear issue and to prevent war.
|
|
Christian Science Monitor: Iran Trumpets High Turnout in Parliamentary Elections
Friday, March 2, 2012
By: Scott Peterson (Christian Science Monitor)
Iran's leaders see today's parliamentary elections as central to affirming their popular support. It is not clear what results will be announced in an election that will shape Iran's political future ahead of next year's presidential elections."While the Guardian Council has already disqualified many Ahmadinejad-backed candidates in large cities, his allies still have a solid chance to win seats in small provincial cities where the vote is less politicized and more focused on economic concerns," note Reza Marashi and Angie Ahmadi of the National Iranian American Council.
|
|
George Kennan in Tehran? The Scenario for a Genuine Containment of Iran
Thursday, March 1, 2012
By: Ambassador Roberto Toscano
Ambassador Roberto Toscano, former Italian Ambassador to Iran (2003-2008), argues that the rationale of containment is not the rationale of (cold) war, but rather the premise for an amenability to negotiate.
|
|
The Politics of Iran's Parliamentary Elections
Thursday, March 1, 2012
By: Reza Marashi & Hengameh Ahmadi (Special to Huffington Post)
Now more than ever before, elections in the Islamic Republic serve as little more than a mechanism through which evolving power relationships among political factions are regulated and recalibrated -- certainly a trend worth tracking. Despite a concerted effort to bridge the ideological range of candidates participating in the election, the vote has instead become a battle between conservative factions for political and economic power in Iran.
|
|
Former Military Leaders Call for Diplomatic Options, Warn Against War with Iran
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
By: Beheshteh Farshneshani
The former CENTCOM Commander and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said no good military options exist that can stop Iran's nuclear program and identified the crux of the problem as the lack of dialogue between Iran and the United States.
|
|
California Democratic Party Votes to Oppose War against Iran
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
By: David Elliott
The California Democratic Party has taken a stand against war with Iran, voting unanimously to "oppose initiating war against Iran" as part of its platform, which was published today.
|
|
ABC News Radio: Iran Determined to Quash Political Dissent
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
By: Connie Agius (ABC News Radio)
As Iranians prepare to vote in Parliamentary elections this weekend, Amnesty International has released a report describing widespread violations of human rights and four times as many public executions in 2011 as in 2010. NIAC's Reza Marashi and Amnesty International's Drewery Dyke discuss how Iranian authorities have ramped up repression of political dissent.
|
|
RT: Would Israel Strike Iran Without Telling US?
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Obama next Monday right after AIPAC holds its annual policy conference. The Associated Press has reported that Israeli Officials say they won't warn the US if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities -- supposedly keeping Americans in the dark as to decrease the likelihood that the US would be held responsible. NIAC's Reza Marashi discusses.
|
|
CNN: Overblown Rhetoric Raises Iran Stakes
Monday, February 27, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Opinion
Amid growing talk of a military strike on Iran, Trita Parsi explains to CNN's Jim Clancy why war is not inevitable and how to ease tensions.
|
|
The Hill: Don't Let Iran Be a Second Iraq
Monday, February 27, 2012
By: Jamal Abdi and Trita Parsi - Opinion
Just as with the lead-up to the Iraq War, the pathway to war with Iran will be paved with false assertions, self-fulfilling saber rattling and political weakness that might seem insignificant now, but will in retrospect turn out to be disastrous. The only real alternative to war, a diplomatic resolution through sustained negotiations, has been largely kept off the table by hard-liners who have demonized the very idea of engagement.
|
|
Washington Times: Attacking Iran's Nuke Sites May Only Slow Progress
Monday, February 27, 2012
By: Kristina Wong (Washington Times)
Destroying nuclear facilities in a military strike could be counterproductive, retired Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright said Monday in an interview. NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi says Cartwright's comments join a chorus of high-ranking former and current military officials who have come out recently against a military strike on Iran. "Its not a coincidence that they're all saying the same thing at the same time," said Mr. Marashi, a former State Department official.
|
|
RT: US Spooks Say No Iranian Nukes
Saturday, February 25, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
The latest report accusing Iran of trying to make a nuclear weapon came Friday from the IAEA which reported that Iran has significantly ramped up its uranium enrichment program. However the consensus among US spy agencies remains that Iran had stopped nuclear weapons research years ago. NIAC's Reza Marashi talks to RT about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
|
|
Al Jazeera: Obama Urged to Stand Strong on Iran
Friday, February 24, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
More than one-third of US senators -- mostly Republicans -- are sponsoring a non-binding resolution that lists reasons why Iran is a threat. The group wants Obama to take a more firm public stance over the nuclear dispute with Iran and reaffirm the US commitment to preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi discusses the concerns this non-binding resolution raises.
|
|
Nieman Watchdog: Six Questions Reporters Should Ask of Anyone Advocating Military Action Against Iran
Friday, February 24, 2012
By: Reza Marashi and Trita Parsi - Opinion
Avoiding another war of choice will require a media that digs beyond agenda-driven analysis and prevents the debate from being curtailed. It will require a media that doesn't permit a question of life and death to be framed in a simplistic manner that leaves the U.S. with a false choice of either bombing Iran or accepting an Iranian bomb.
|
|
Canada-based Programmer Malekpour Faces Execution as First IRGC Cyber Target
Thursday, February 23, 2012
By: Angie Ahmadi - News
Saeed Malekpour, a permanent resident of Canada who was arrested in 2008 when visiting his dying father in Iran, may soon be executed because he designed social networking software to upload and share images.
|
|
The Iranian Nuclear Dilemma: Risk of an Iraq Sequel?
Thursday, February 23, 2012
By: Link TV
Speaking at a Capitol Hill event organized by the National Iranian American Council, top former officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense argued that keeping an IAEA presence on the ground -- and increasing transparency and verification as part of a diplomatic agreement -- is key to ensuring Iran's nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes and avoiding war.
|
|
Bloomberg: Iran Snub to UN Officials Shows Stance Unchanged, U.S. Says
Monday, February 20, 2012
By: Indira A.R. Lakshmanan, Bloomberg
Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council and author of a book on Obama's diplomatic efforts on Iran, said Iran's refusal to allow access to Parchin may also be an effort to take a hard-line position prior to new negotiations with the U.S., Europeans, China and Russia.
|
|
Al Jazeera Interviews NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi
Sunday, February 19, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
Al Jazeera interviews Reza Marashi on tensions between the U.S., Iran and Israel, the latest nuclear developments, and the prospects for diplomacy.
|
|
Reuters: 3-Banking's SWIFT Says Ready to Block Iran Transactions
Friday, February 17, 2012
By: Philip Blenkinsop and Rachelle Younglai (Reuters)
Belgium-based SWIFT, which provides banks with a system for moving funds around the world, bowed to international pressure on Friday and said it was ready to block Iranian banks from using its network to transfer money. "Kicking Iran out of SWIFT is both unprecedented and another dangerous step toward turning a financial war into a military conflict," said Reza Marashi, NIAC Research Director.
|
|
BBC World Interviews Reza Marashi on Iran, Israel and US
Friday, February 17, 2012
By: BBC World
BBC World discussed the ever more fraught relationship between Iran, and Israel and the US, with guests from all three countries, including NIAC's Reza Marashi. More and more of you are getting in touch with the BBC saying you believe this tension will end in war. Is conflict a necessary route out of the current situation? Or is there enough common ground to keep the peace?
|
|
Democracy Now! Interview with Reza Marashi
Thursday, February 16, 2012
By: Democracy Now!
Democracy Now's Amy Goodman speaks with Reza Marashi and Glenn Greenwald on how tensions about Iran rise with diplomat bombings, scientist killings, nuke claims and media war-mongering.
|
|
Statement: Senate Iran Resolution a Blank Check for War
Thursday, February 16, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC issued a statement regarding the Senate introduction of a resolution that would rule out "containment of a nuclear weapons capable Iran."
|
|
The Iranian Nuclear Dilemma: Risk of an Iraq Sequel?
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
By: NIAC Staff
Join NIAC Tuesday, February 21, for a panel discussion featuring Hans Blix, Former Director General of the IAEA; Colin Kahl, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East; and Robert Kelley, Former Chief Inspector for the IAEA in Iraq for a discussion on the Iranian nuclear dilemma and ways to avoid a sequel to Iraq.
|
|
Boston Review: Sanctions Don't Promote Democratic Change
Monday, February 6, 2012
By: Natasha Bahrami and Trita Parsi - Analysis
Supporters of US sanctions on Iran assume that there is a positive relationship between broad economic sanctions and democratization. The policymakers responsible for these measures either are ignorant of or are simply ignoring the empirical evidence: broad sanctions--total financial and trade embargoes--do not have a good track record of changing target countries' policies or of pushing them toward democracy.
|
|
VOA Persian: Debate About War with Iran
Thursday, January 26, 2012
By: VOA Persian
NIAC's Jamal Abdi debates with Matthew Kroening about whether the U.S. should initiate war with Iran. Abdi argues the U.S. government should focus on finding a diplomatic resolution rather than resorting to war.
|
|
BBC World News Interview with Trita Parsi
Thursday, January 26, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis
BBC interviews NIAC President Trita Parsi on the latest and toughest EU sanctions on oil contracts in protest over Iran's nuclear program. Dr. Parsi discusses the implications of these sanctions, Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, and the growing threat of war with Iran.
|
|
The Washington Times: Obama's Pressure on Iran Raises Fear of a Military Clash
Thursday, January 26, 2012
By: Kristina Wong (The Washington Times)
NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi suggests that the increased pressure on Iran is politically motivated by the presidential election campaign. "I would characterize it as buying time until after the elections," says Marashi. "No politician, particularly a sitting president ... wants to look weak on national security issues on the run up to his or her re-election effort."
|
|
The National: Sanctions Squeeze Iran, but the Street Isn't Suffering Yet
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
By: Jason Rezaian (The National)
"Sanctions on the central bank won't work and won't change Iran's course," says Reza Marashi, Research Director at the National Iranian American Council. "The Iranian government has taken multiple steps to insulate itself from such pressure breaking its economy. The government will go back to the drawing board and find new ways to move money."
|
|
BBC World Interviews Reza Marashi on Iran, Oil and Sanctions
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
BBC World News interviews NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi on plans for an oil embargo on Iran, increasing sanctions, and potential conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.
|
|
CNN: A Growing Web of Pressure Over Iran
Monday, January 23, 2012
By: Josh Levs (CNN)
Iranian officials have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical transit point for one-fifth of the world's oil. The United States warned Iran against such a move. While many analysts refer to the threat as "saber-rattling," NIAC President Trita Parsi says that if Iran considers itself as being engaged in a war, it might actually try such a move.
|
|
The World Today: US and Iran Inch Closer to Talks
Friday, January 20, 2012
By: Tanya Nolan (The World Today)
There were growing signs that the US and Iran may be stepping back from the brink and heading towards the negotiating table over Iran's nuclear program. However, NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi also warns that there's a growing chorus of neoconservatives in Washington who are clamouring for a military strike against Iran.
|
|
RT: US Ready to Have Talks with Iran?
Friday, January 20, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
In the past few weeks, an Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated, the West has increased sanctions against the country, and Tehran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi discusses how the rest of the world reacts to their perception of Iran's nuclear ambition.
|
|
Obama vs. Netanyahu vs. Ahmadinejad
Thursday, January 19, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis (special to CNN)
U.S.-Israeli relations are in a crisis over Iran. Publicly, the two sides claim to share a common objective with Iran, though they may assess risks differently. When the two states cannot agree on an objective, tensions over tactics and strategies are to be expected.
|
|
Foreign Policy: A Tale of Two Diasporas
Thursday, January 19, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
Iraqi exiles were gung-ho to overthrow Saddam. Iranian-Americans, in stark contrast, have largely opposed a rush to war and instead prefer U.S. policies that emphasize engagement and de-escalation. Why have Iraqis and Iranians living abroad reached such drastically different conclusions?
|
|
Experts discuss hazards of military confrontation with Iran
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
By: Ardavon Naimi - News
Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution and Michael Eisenstadt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, discussed rising tensions between the U.S., Israel, and Iran and the consequences of a military confrontation at an Atlantic Council event.
|
|
Iran Assassinations Sabotage Efforts to Prevent War
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis (Special to Public Service Europe)
Israel, the United States Congress and some officials within the Barack Obama administration are rapidly closing off options to ensure that America remains on a trajectory that avoids military conflict with Iran.
|
|
WDEL Interview with David Elliott
Monday, January 16, 2012
By: Allan Loudell, WDEL
NIAC Assistant Policy Director David Elliott talks with WDEL about the consequences of Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz and the recent assassination of an Iranian scientist.
|
|
NPR: Assassination Opens New Rifts Between Iran And The West
Saturday, January 14, 2012
By: Steve Mullis, NPR
The upcoming P5+1 talks are scheduled to take place later this month. NIAC President Trita Parsi says the two sides have escalated things right before upcoming negotiations in order to maximize their bargaining power.
|
|
BBC World Interview with Reza Marashi
Friday, January 13, 2012
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi discusses the proposed oil embargo on Iran, and its potentially harmful effects on both the Iranian people and the international economy.
|
|
How Obama Should Talk to Iran
Friday, January 13, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Opinion (Special to Washington Post)
Rather than resolving the nuclear issue, Iran and the United States are inching closer to a military confrontation. But war is not inevitable. Diplomacy, which the Obama administration prematurely abandoned, can still succeed.
|
|
NIAC Condemns Assassination Campaign Targeting Iranian Scientists
Thursday, January 12, 2012
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC condemns the assassination of Iranian scientist Mostafa Ahamdi Roshan. This assassination the fourth in two years is an illegal and immoral act that increases the risk of military confrontation and retaliatory acts by Iran.
|
|
Democracy Now! Interview with Trita Parsi
Thursday, January 12, 2012
By: Democracy Now!
Iran says a nuclear scientist involved in its uranium enrichment program was killed by assassins in Tehran on Wednesday, becoming the latest Iranian scientist to die in a series of similar incidents.
|
|
Kojo Nnamdi Show: On the Brink with Iran?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
By: WAMU Kojo Nnamdi Show
One day after another Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated, Kojo explores the threat a nuclear-armed Iran would pose and looks at ways to defuse escalating tensions with the West with Trita Parsi, Colin Kahl, and Barbara Slavin.
|
|
PRI's To the Point: Tensions Sour Between Iran and the West
Thursday, January 12, 2012
By: KCRW, To the Point
Dennis Ross, Trita Parsi, Barbara Slavin and Flynt Leverett debate U.S. policy on Iran, including potential new sanctions and diplomacy on PRI's To the Point.
|
|
Assassination to Scuttle Talks
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Opinion (Special to CNN)
Another Iranian nuclear scientist has been assassinated in Tehran and a familiar pattern is emerging: Weeks before a new round of talks, all sides escalate and provoke, mainly to improve their negotiating position at the upcoming talks.
|
|
Washington Post: Killing of Iranian Scientist Imperils Former Marine
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
By: Thomas Erdbrink and Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post
"Unfortunately, the greater the escalation is, the greater the likelihood that the perceived costs of executing him decline," said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council and author of a new book about the Obama administration's dealings with Iran.
|
|
CNN: Who's killing Iranian nuclear scientists?
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
By: Josh Levs, CNN
"The most likely contender among people who are following this is that the Israelis are doing it, possibly in cooperation with the Iranian mujahedin," said NIAC President Trita Parsi.
|
|
Al Jazeera: Is Iran finding new friends in Latin America?
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
By: Inside Story Americas, Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera's Inside Story Americas discusses Ahmadinejad's diplomatic push in Latin American and the effects of sanctions with guests Trita Parsi, Nader Hashemi, and Reuel Marc Gerecht.
|
|
WUSA9 Interviews NIAC's Abdi about Amir Hekmati
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
By: WUSA News 9
Washington DC's WUSA9 talks with NIAC Policy Director Jamal Abdi about the death sentence imposed on Iranian-American Amir Hekmati.
|
|
NPR On Point: The Troubled Waters Of The Strait Of Hormuz
Monday, January 9, 2012
By: On Point, with Tom Ashbrook
NPR's On Point discusses the strategy and the stakes surrounding the escalating rhetoric between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.
|
|
NY Times: Iran Imposes Death Sentence on U.S. Man Accused of Spying
Monday, January 9, 2012
By: Rick Gladstone and Harvey Morris, New York Times
Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, an advocacy group critical of Iran's government, called the sentencing of Mr. Hekmati "part of what the Iranians and the United States are doing right now to position themselves for the coming negotiations in Turkey."
|
|
Will Momentum for EU Oil Embargo on Iran Wreck Diplomacy?
Monday, January 9, 2012
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis (Special to The Independent)
The diplomatic resources required to create consensus around multilateral sanctions are so great that once the sanctions threat gains momentum, it becomes hard to halt the momentum in favor of diplomacy.
|
|
Iran: Threats and Sanctions
Thursday, January 5, 2012
By: The Diane Rehm Show
NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi speaks on NPR about the financial, political and military implications of the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
|
|
VOA: US Presidential Candidates Fire Verbal Assaults at Iran
Thursday, January 5, 2012
By: Meredith Buel, VOA
"What bellicosity, what sabre rattling gets you is this self-fulfilling prophecy where we are talking about military options, we are talking about war," said Jamal Abdi, the policy director for the National Iranian American Council.
|
|
France 24 Interview with Trita Parsi
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
By: France 24
France Melissa Bell speaks to NIAC President Trita Parsi about President Obama's diplomacy towards Iran and the renewed tension over the past couple of weeks between the two countries.
|
|
Reuters: U.S. Hopes New Iran Sanctions More Scalpel Than Axe
Monday, January 2, 2012
By: Andrew Quinn, Reuters
"There is increased frustration from many of these nations when they see that previous rounds of sanctions haven't done what they were intended to do," said Trita Parsi, an Iran expert and head of the National Iranian American Council.
|
|
Without Renewed Diplomacy, War with Iran Lies around the Corner
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
By: Trita Parsi - Opinion
NIAC's Trita Parsi writes for CNN that fears of yet another war in the Middle East may be in the making are not unfounded, particularly if diplomacy continues to be treated as a slogan rather than as a serious policy option.
|
|
What Happens When We Come Together?
Thursday, December 22, 2011
By: NIAC Video
2011 has been a year of growth and important victories on critical issues, and there are many great things on the horizon in 2012! Help us ring in the New Year by expanding our network and strengthening our community's voice in D.C.
|
|
Former Officials Call for President Obama to Reinvigorate Iran Diplomacy
Monday, December 19, 2011
By: NIAC News
A group of former government officials, diplomats, military officers, and nonproliferation experts have called on President Obama to reinvigorate direct diplomatic engagement with Iran to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.
|
|
Domestic politics drives US sanctions on Iran
Friday, December 16, 2011
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
Tougher sanctions and an anti-diplomacy approach to Iran can only lead to eventual military confrontation.
|
|
What Happened to Obama's Nuclear Option?
Friday, December 16, 2011
By: Hamed Aleaziz - Mother Jones
NIAC's Reza Marashi speaks with Mother Jones about the President's showdown with Congress on how to deal with Iran.
|
|
House passes new Iran sanctions bills
Thursday, December 15, 2011
By: Loren White - News
The House of Representatives last night voted to pass three bills imposing broad new sanctions against Iran and any countries or entities doing business with Iran.
|
|
Congress' Extreme Iran Sanctions
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
Today's vote by the House of Representatives to approve broad Iran sanctions and an expected vote by both chambers to approve central bank sanctions represent a major step in the wrong direction for the United States' Iran policy.
|
|
Outlawing diplomacy with Iran comes with dangerous repercussions
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
For a bill being sold as a last best alternative to military confrontation, H.R.1905 sets a destructive precedent that will silence our diplomats, endanger our troops, and dangerously intensify the danger of war with Iran.
|
|
Joint Letter Calls for Congress to Oppose Legal Restrictions on Iran Diplomacy
Thursday, December 8, 2011
By: NIAC News
NIAC and twenty-five leading Jewish-American, arms control, human rights, democracy, and pro-peace organizations sent a letter to Members of Congress calling for them to oppose or demand removal of a provision in new Iran sanctions legislation that would place restrictions on diplomatic contact between U.S. and Iranian officials.
|
|
U.S. Launches "Virtual" Iran Embassy
Thursday, December 8, 2011
By: Ardavon Naimi - News
The United States announced the launch of its Virtual Embassy for Iran, a new website aimed at encouraging dialogue between the Iranian people and the United States. The effort is an attempt to address the lack of dialogue between the U.S. and and Iranian citizens since the closure of the physical embassy in Tehran in 1979.
|
|
Has War With Iran Already Begun?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
By: NIAC Video
As we close 2011, the risk of a U.S.-Iran war is on the rise once more. Extremists on all sides are feeding off of each other, laying the blame and groundwork to push for military action.
|
|
Why the UK Embassy in Iran Was Attacked: The Domestic Angle
Friday, December 2, 2011
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis
The disgraceful attack by hardline Basijis against the British embassy in Tehran appears on the surface to be a response to Britain's role in imposing crippling sanctions on Iran. But there is more to this picture.
|
|
Senate Passes Sanctions Despite White House Objections
Thursday, December 1, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
Despite strong opposition from Obama Administration officials, the Senate unanimously passed legislation to force the President to impose sanctions on countries and companies that do business with Iran's central bank or purchase Iranian oil.
|
|
NIAC Statement on Iran Sanctions Vote in Senate
Thursday, December 1, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
The Senate voted today to further punish the Iranian people, to entrench the regime, to punish the U.S. and its allies, and to pave the pathway to war.
|
|
U.S.News & World Report: Iran Oil Embargo Could Hurt Europe and Help China, Russia
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
By: Jessica Rettig, U.S.News & World Report
You're going to have the Revolutionary Guard further consolidating control of oil exports from Iran, and if oil prices go up, they're actually going to benefit from that," says Jamal Abdi, policy director at the National Iranian American Council.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes U.N. Resolution on Iran's Human Rights Violations
Friday, November 25, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC reiterates its call for the Iranian government to comply with its human rights obligations, release all prisoners of conscience, and cooperate with the UN human rights monitor established earlier this year.
|
|
NIAC Launches Sanctions Campaign Page
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
As new broad sanctions efforts ratchet up in Congress and the Obama Administration, NIAC has launched a sanctions campaign page to provide the latest news and information, as well as tools you can use to contact your elected officials to stop indiscriminate sanctions that will hurt ordinary people.
|
|
Assessing Upcoming Iranian Parliamentary Elections
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
By: Ardavon Naimi - News
Farideh Farhi, Yasmin Alem, and Mehrzad Boroujerdi discussed the possible implications of Iran's upcoming Parliamentary elections in March.
|
|
NPR: Can Sanctions End Iran's Nuclear Ambitions?
Monday, November 21, 2011
By: NPR Talk of the Nation
NPR hosts NIAC President Trita Parsi for a discussion on the efficacy of Iran sanctions and whether better options exist for U.S.-Iran policy.
|
|
U.S. Officials Warn that New Sanctions Could be a "Boon" to Iran
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
U.S. officials warned Members of Congress at a House Oversight Subcommittee hearing that new Iran sanctions proposed in Congress could raise the price of oil and hurt the U.S. and its allies while benefitting Iran.
|
|
Marginalized Diplomacy Will End in Conflict
Monday, November 14, 2011
By: Trita Parsi - Opinion
Only sixteen months after the last United Nations Security Council sanctions resolution on Iran was passed, which was supposed to "bring Iran back to the negotiating table," Washington is once again upping the ante.
|
|
NIAC Condemns Endorsement of Military Action on Iran at CBS GOP Debate
Saturday, November 12, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
It is shameful that military action was so flippantly endorsed when it is clear that it would inflict such damage to U.S. national intest and to Iran's democracy movement.
|
|
Al Jazeera English Interviews Trita Parsi and Reza Marashi
Thursday, November 10, 2011
By: NIAC Staff
Al Jazeera English interviews NIAC President, Trita Parsi and NIAC Research Director, Reza Marashi.
|
|
UN's Nuclear Detectives Key to Diplomatic Solution on Iran
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
By: Trita Parsi - Opinion
NIAC President Trita Parsi writes in Salon.com that the new UN report shows that transparency, not sanctions and assassination, will secure U.S interests.
|
|
Take Action: Tell Congress and President Obama - No More Indiscriminate Sanctions!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
By: NIAC Action Alert
Take action to stop new indiscriminate sanctions moving forward in Congress and the White House that punish ordinary Iranians and Iranian Americans for the actions of the Iranian regime.
|
|
House Committee Adopts Indiscriminate Sanctions, Anti-Diplomacy Bill
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council is deeply concerned that the "Iran Threat Reduction Act," as passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee today, will make Americans less safe and will hurt the Iranian people not the regime by making sanctions even more indiscriminate.
|
|
On Iran, Obama Faces Wrath of Congress and the Pro-War Lobby
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
By: Jamal Abdi
The "Iran Threat Reduction Act" would actually make it illegal for a U.S. official to speak to Iranian officials unless the President issues a special waiver and provides Congress a 15-day heads up.
|
|
Does Obama Understand What's Been Unleashed?
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
In response to the alleged assassination plot, Washington continue to impose the toughest possible sanctions on Iran. But the Obama administration's curious handling of the alleged plot has potentially dangerous ramifications.
|
|
Video: State Department Persian-Language Spokesman Addresses Iranian-American Community
Friday, October 14, 2011
By: NIAC Staff
"It is in the interest of both the United States and Iran to have an Iranian citizenry that is informed, connected to each other and to the rest of the world, and empowered relative to its own government," said Alan Eyre, U.S. State Department Persian-Language Spokesman.
|
|
Video: Analysts Say New Sanctions Bill Would Increase Gas Prices, Unlikely to Change Iran's Behavior
Thursday, October 13, 2011
By: Helia Ighani - News
A panel of sanctions experts concluded that new sanctions legislation that Congress is considering could create a "very large, very sudden" increase in gas prices in the U.S. and abroad if passed.
|
|
Experts Discuss U.S. Iran relations at NIAC Leadership Conference
Thursday, October 13, 2011
By: Loren White
As part of its first annual Leadership Conference last week, NIAC hosted an off the record panel for conference attendees featuring key leaders in the academic and political spheres in the United States and Europe working on Iran-U.S. foreign policy issues.
|
|
The "Come to Jesus" Moment in US-Iran Relations
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
By: Reza Marashi & Trita Parsi - Opinion
If the assassination allegations are true, this deplorable act should be strongly condemned. To that end, the Beltway is already buzzing with calls for a "robust response" that will "send a strong message to Iran." But how?
|
|
NIAC Statement on Alleged Terror Plot
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
Iranian Americans share with all Americans a deep commitment to keeping our country safe, and the actions of the individual indicted in the alleged plot in no way reflects the views of the broader Iranian-American community.
|
|
Analysts Say New Sanctions Bill Would Increase Gas Prices; Unlikely to Change Iran's Behavior
Thursday, October 6, 2011
By: Helia Ighani - News
A panel of sanctions experts concluded Tuesday that new sanctions legislation that Congress is considering could create a "very large, very sudden" increase in gas prices in the U.S. and abroad if passed.
|
|
Iran's growing bluster spells danger
Sunday, October 2, 2011
By: Trita Parsi - Opinion
The world has grown accustomed to Iranian bluster. But even by the standards of the Islamic Republic, Adm. Habibollah Sayari's call last week to deploy the Iranian navy near the U.S. coast is stunning. The Pentagon knows, of course, that Iranian war vessels won't come near America's shores any time soon.
|
|
On Iran, Turn Rhetoric Into Results
Friday, September 30, 2011
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, has sent another letter to the Permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) lead negotiator, Catherine Ashton, requesting fresh talks to bridge the longstanding divide.
|
|
NIAC Calls for Release of Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani
Friday, September 30, 2011
By: NIAC Statement
NIAC calls for the immediate release of Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani. The charges of apostasy against Nadarkahni and the death sentence he faces represent a further erosion of human rights and rule of law in Iran, specifically the protection of religious minorities and religious liberty.
|
|
Military and arms control experts call for dialogue with Iran
Friday, September 23, 2011
By: NIAC Staff
Admiral Joe Sestak joined nonproliferation experts Mark Fitzpatrick and Greg Thielmann to discuss the need for engagement with Iran to resolve the nuclear issue and prevent a disastrous war.
|
|
House Panel Examines U.S. Human Rights Approaches to Iran and Syria
Friday, September 23, 2011
By: Loren White
"I don't think we should give up efforts at engagement with the Islamic Republic," said Alireza Nader at a House hearing on Thursday. "I do think that it is a valuable tactic in terms of the United States achieving its objectives. I do think Iran's total diplomatic isolation benefits the regime because it isolates the people."
|
|
NIAC Congratulates Freed Americans; Urges Release of Political Prisoners in Iran
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC welcomes the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal from their 782-day detention in Iran's Evin prison. NIAC congratulates Josh, Shane and their families, and calls on Iran to release all political prisoners who remain detained.
|
|
Mujahedin Machine vs. The Iranian-American Community
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
By: Trita Parsi
The MEK and neo-conservative elements supporting them have for years been orchestrating attacks against prominent Iranian American individuals and institutions who do not subscribe to their views.
|
|
Experts Warn Delisting Iranian Terror Group Would Carry Damaging Repercussions
Thursday, August 4, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
An expert panel convened today to discuss the potential repercussions of an pending decision by the State Department regarding the terrorist designation of the Iranian Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) organization.
|
|
Why Delisting the MEK Threatens Iran's Democracy Movement
Thursday, July 21, 2011
By: Jamal Abdi - Opinion
The unprecedented campaign in Washington to remove the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from the U.S. list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations represents a critical threat to Iran's indigenous democratic movement.
|
|
Despite Iran's Rejection, Human Rights Pressure Continues
Thursday, July 21, 2011
By: NIAC Staff
Iran announced on Monday that it would not permit the recently appointed United Nations human rights monitor on Iran to enter the country to report on the human rights situation.
|
|
Truthout: War With Iran? US Neocons Aim to Repeat Chalabi-Style Swindle
Friday, July 15, 2011
By: Ali Fatemi & Karim Pakravan, Truthout
A segment of our political establishment that is chafing at the bit for a military attack on Iran has found their Iraqi National Congress, in the form of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization.
|
|
Congressional Leaders Voice Support for MEK Violence
Monday, July 11, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
Supporters of removing the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from the U.S. terrorism list convened a hearing on Capitol Hill last week in which they justified the MEK's use of violence and even cult-like behavior in support of toppling the Iranian regime.
|
|
OFAC Clarifies that Iranian Americans May Continue Flying on Iran Air
Friday, July 1, 2011
By: Asian Law Caucus Press Release
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has confirmed that U.S. individuals may continue flying on Iran Air based on an underlying travel exemption.
|
|
New Sanctions Do Not Prohibit Iranian Americans from Flying Iran Air
Friday, July 1, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
Officials at the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and State Department have confirmed to NIAC that indeed U.S. individuals may continue to purchase tickets and fly on Iran Air.
|
|
Washington's Favorite Terrorists
Thursday, June 30, 2011
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis
In a matter of weeks, the MEK terrorist organization may succeed in getting removed from the terrorist list -- not as a result of any change of heart -- but as a result of an unprecedented multi-million dollar media and lobbying blitz.
|
|
Iran: The Next Generation
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
By: Reza Marashi and Jason Rezaian - Analysis
For several weeks now, observers and analysts of Iran have been referring to an emerging rift between the Iranian president and the country's Supreme Leader. The recent back-and-forth between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei reflects a deeper generational shift.
|
|
Former Ambassador to Iran Briefs Hill on Engagement and Democracy Opportunities
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
By: Jayhon Ghassem-Zadeh
On Monday, NIAC hosted former Italian Ambassador to Iran Roberto Toscano for a Congressional briefing entitled, "Iran: New Opportunities for Engagement and Democracy?"
|
|
NIAC Deeply Concerned by Civilian Airline Sanctions
Thursday, June 23, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC is deeply concerned about today's announcement of United States sanctions against Iran Air. These sanctions fail to target the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and instead will punish and further isolate ordinary Iranians.
|
|
Bolton Receives Warm Reception as He Tells Congress to Bomb Iran, Support MEK
Thursday, June 23, 2011
By: David Shams - News
"I've argued for [military strikes against Iran] for about three and a half years," John Bolton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee today. "It's a big mistake to conclude, as I believe the Administration has, that a nuclear Iran can be contained and deterred."
|
|
The Turkey-Brazil-Iran Deal, One Year Later
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
One year after a deal to remove over one ton of nuclear fuel from Iran was rejected by the U.S., experts assessed why the deal was scuttled and what have been the resulting implications.
|
|
U.S. Treasury Clarifies Sanctions Laws Regarding Food and Medicine to Iran
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
By: David Shams - News
The U.S. Treasury issued guidance on Monday that donations of food and medicine for the relief of human suffering are exempt from U.S. export sanctions against Iran. The guidance does not represent a change in policy, but rather is a formal clarification of existing laws and regulations.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Appointment of Human Rights Monitor, Calls for Iran to Cooperate
Monday, June 20, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC welcomes the appointment by the U.N. Human Rights Council of Ahmed Shaheed as the human rights monitor for Iran and calls on Iran to allow Mr. Shaheed to investigate Iran's human rights record without interference
|
|
Watch: Maziar Bahari Discusses Imprisonment, How Iranian Americans Can Support Human Rights
Thursday, June 16, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC presents an exclusive interview (in Persian) with award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, and human rights activist Maziar Bahari. His newest book, Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival, chronicles the 118 days he spent in a six-by-twelve-feet prison cell in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.
|
|
The New International Focus on Human Rights in Iran
Thursday, June 16, 2011
By: Dokhi Fassihian - Analysis
The establishment of a UN human rights monitor on Iran represents hard-won leverage by the international community to press for change.
|
|
As Sanctions Ratchet Up, Iranian Americans Bear Increasing Burdens
Friday, June 10, 2011
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
The civil rights organization Asian Law Caucus released, The Impact of U.S. Sanctions Against Iran on You, which lays out some of the effects of sanctions on ordinary Iranian Americans and provides guidance for how to navigate the maze of new and existing restrictions.
|
|
NIAC Commends Targeted Human Rights Measures Against IRGC, Basij
Thursday, June 9, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC commends today's announcement that the Obama Administration is designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Basij paramilitary, Iran's national police and its chief for U.S. financial and visa restrictions due to their involvement in human rights abuses against the Iranian people.
|
|
Why sanctions against Iran won't work
Saturday, June 4, 2011
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
For decision-makers in Tehran, the heart of the matter is how they perceive that the West will (and will not) react to its foreign policy posturing in general and the nuclear question in particular. The Iranian narrative can be summarized as follows: Former President Mohammad Khatami's détente failed, so Iran must now deal with the West from a position of strength.
|
|
Israeli Prime Minister's Washington Visit Reignites Threats of War and New Sanctions
Friday, June 3, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
Prime Minister Netanyahu's calls for military threats on Iran drew a standing ovation from the House and Senate, which introduced new legislation to endorse Israeli military strikes and impose an oil embargo on Iran.
|
|
Joint Letter to Congress on New Iran Sanctions Bills
Thursday, June 2, 2011
By: NIAC Staff
NIAC and leading Iranian-American, Jewish-American, arms control, democracy, human rights and pro-peace organizations called on the House and Senate to oppose or demand significant changes to new Iran sanctions legislation.
|
|
NIAC Condemns the Killing of Haleh Sahabi
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC condemns in the strongest possible terms the killing today of Haleh Sahabi and calls on Iran's government to release all prisoners of conscience and end its campaign of systematic repression.
|
|
IPS: New Iran Sanctions Could Push Petrol Prices Even Higher
Thursday, May 26, 2011
By: David Elkins, IPS
Inter-Press Service speaks with NIAC's Jamal Abdi about the potential effects of proposed legislation that would impose a de-facto international embargo on all of Iran's oil, petroleum and natural gas exports
|
|
Administration Officials Emphasize Multilateral Successes on Iran as Congress Considers New Unilateral Sanctions
Friday, May 13, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
As Congress prepares a new round of unilateral Iran sanctions, two top State Department officials discussed the Obama administration's approach to Iran's human rights situation last Wednesday before the Middle East subcommittee of Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
|
|
Analysis: Human Rights Component of New Iran Sanctions Effort is Far Too Limited
Monday, May 9, 2011
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) has introduced the "human rights component" of what will be a "massive" Iran sanctions package expected in time for the AIPAC conference later this month.
|
|
California Democrats Endorse Iranian Student Visa Fix, Human Rights
Friday, May 6, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
The California Democratic Party voted overwhelmingly to build bridges between the American and Iranian peoples and to express its support for the nonviolent human rights and democracy movement in Iran at its annual convention in Sacramento this weekend.
|
|
The Islamic Republic's Emerging Cyber War
Saturday, April 30, 2011
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
While foreign-inspired virus attacks command the attention of policymakers and pundits in the West, the Islamic Republic's long-term cyber war strategy is slowly succeeding.
|
|
Iranian Nuclear Issue Predicted to Reemerge as U.S. Presidential Campaign Begins
Friday, April 29, 2011
By: Sarah Ravani - News
While uprisings in Arab states have dominated much of Washington's conversation about the Middle East this year, Geoffrey Kemp of the Center for National Interest predicted that Iran's nuclear program, and the potential for U.S. military confrontation, will return soon as a major campaign issue.
|
|
NIAC Hosts Shirin Ebadi for Discussion on Human Rights, Engagement, and War
Thursday, April 28, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
Speaking before an audience of NIAC members this past Saturday, Dr. Shirin Ebadi encouraged international focus on the human rights situation in Iran and warned that war, or threats of an attack on Iran, would be devastating for the country's indigenous human rights and democracy movement.
|
|
Virginia Connection: Ebadi Comes to McLean
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
By: Alex McVeigh, Virginia Connection
As a board member of the National Iranian-American Council, McLean resident Forough Yazdani is no stranger to getting the Iranian-American community involved in civic processes. But she said it was a special honor to host Nobel Peace Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi at her home Sunday.
|
|
NIAC Hosts Shirin Ebadi for In-Depth Conversation on Iran Policy & Human Rights
Monday, April 25, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC hosted a forum on Iran policy and human rights with Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi on Saturday April 23rd in McLean, VA.
|
|
New Legislation Targets Iranian Civilian Flights
Thursday, April 21, 2011
By: NIAC Staff
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) recently introduced H.R. 1655, a bill that would strip the President's authority to allow civilian aircraft parts and repairs to be sent into Iran to prevent humanitarian tragedy.
|
|
Stop Congress from Targeting Iranian Passenger Planes
Thursday, April 21, 2011
By: NIAC Action Alert
Take action to oppose new legislation that would strip President Obama's authority to allow civilian aircraft parts and repairs to be sent into Iran to prevent humanitarian tragedy.
|
|
Senator Kyl Calls for Harsher Sanctions to "Assist" Iranians
Friday, April 15, 2011
By: Sarah Ravani - News
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) called for harsher sanctions against Iran this week, saying that regular Iranians would be willing to suffer if the U.S. makes the case that such punishment is intended to help them.
|
|
Heritage Foundation Calls for Harsher Sanctions, Regime Change
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
By: Sarah Oliai - News
Panelists at a Heritage Foundation event called for the US to impose harsher sanctions backed by a "credible threat of force" against Iran.
|
|
Senator Graham Calls for Military Strikes on Iran if Sanctions Fail
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
By: Sarah Oliai - News
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reiterated his call for the US to "neuter" Iran through military action if sanctions fail to stop its nuclear program.
|
|
Former Italian Ambassador to Iran Discusses Opportunities for Pro-Democracy Movement
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
By: Sarah Ravani - News
Roberto Toscano, former Italian Ambassador to Iran, discussed the political and social dynamics that the Green Movement must address to be successful at the Wilson Center on Monday.
|
|
Panel Debates Opportunities for Iran Engagement
Monday, April 4, 2011
By: Sarah Oliai - News
The merits of engaging Iran were debated by panelists last week at the launching of the Atlantic Council Iran Task Force's second publication, "'Strategically Lonely' Iran Exploits Opportunities for Regional Influence".
|
|
Reform in the Iranian Electoral System
Friday, April 1, 2011
By: Sarah Oliai - News
Yasmin Alem, author of a new publication on the Iranian electoral system, led a panel examining Iran's elections processes and discussing potential reforms.
|
|
Subsidy Reform & Regime Resilience in Iran
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
Though still in its infant stages, subsidy reform demonstrates the interrelationship between Iran's economic realities and the government's efforts to remain in control.
|
|
Experts: Nonviolence, Human Rights Focus are Best Options for Iran's Democracy Movement
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
By: Sarah Ravani - News
"Violence can achieve short-term results quickly, but after that has been achieved, then problems arise," said Roberto Toscano, Italian ambassador to Iran from 2003 to 2008.
|
|
Yahoo News: U.N. rights body votes to appoint Iran human rights monitor
Thursday, March 24, 2011
By: Laura Rozen
Yahoo News reports on the establishment of a UN human rights monitor on Iran and NIAC's efforts to support this measure.
|
|
NIAC Applauds Today's Establishment of Human Rights Monitor on Iran
Thursday, March 24, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) strongly supports today's successful vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) to establish an independent UN human rights monitor on Iran.
|
|
Proposal at U.N. Body Puts Focus on Iran's Human Rights Record
Friday, March 18, 2011
By: Jeff Baron, America.gov
America.gov's Jeff Baron writes about how diplomats and rights activists spoke at NIAC's human rights conference in support of a critical multinational effort to push for human rights in Iran.
|
|
The Atlantic: A New Opportunity for the U.S. to Promote Human Rights in Iran
Thursday, March 17, 2011
By: Reza Marashi and Trita Parsi
NIAC's Reza Marashi and Trita Parsi present three ideas for how President Obama can support human rights in Iran and leverage the Arab uprising in The Atlantic.
|
|
US and Swedish Officials Outline Human Rights Initiative at NIAC Conference
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
By: NIAC Staff - News
"This effort is not about grandstanding or showdown, but about action on a practical step that we hope will lead to change over time," declared U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Suzanne Nossel, discussing efforts now underway at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to establish a human rights monitor on Iran.
|
|
Holding Iran Accountable for its Human Rights Record
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
By: Joanne Levine, U.S. Department of State
Deputy Assistant Secretary Suzanne Nossel spoke today on Capitol Hill at an event sponsored by the National Iranian American Council to make the case for creating a Special Rappateur on Iran at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
|
|
NIAC Commends UN Human Rights Council Efforts on Iran
Monday, March 14, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC commends efforts underway at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) to productively address the continued campaign of human rights abuses in Iran.
|
|
Congress Clashes over U.S. Participation at the Human Rights Council
Friday, March 11, 2011
By: Sarah Ravani - News
Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee clashed over U.S. participation in the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) last week.
|
|
Arrest of Iranian Opposition Leaders Further Demonstrates Need for International Efforts
Monday, February 28, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC condemns the arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and reiterates its call for the international community to take serious steps to address human rights violations in Iran.
|
|
The Role of Brazil and Turkey in Nuclear Negotiations with Iran
Friday, February 25, 2011
By: Sarah Oliai - News
An expert panel convened at the Wilson Center to assess the dynamics surrounding the May 2010 "Tehran Declaration" brokered by Brazil and Turkey, and the role those countries can play going forward.
|
|
Experts Discuss Impact of Iran Sanctions
Thursday, February 24, 2011
By: Sarah Oliai - News
"We don't really have evidence at this stage that sanctions work," said Brookings Institution senior fellow Suzanne Maloney on Friday. "They haven't produced compromise, even though ... the sanctions regime is far more muscular than it has ever been."
|
|
NIAC Commends Targeted Human Rights Measures
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC commends today's announcement that the Obama Administration is designating Basij Commander Mohammed Reza Naqdi and Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi for US financial and visa restrictions due to their involvement in human rights abuses against the Iranian people.
|
|
Iran Raises The Stakes: The Istanbul Talks & Iran's Political Psychology
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
By: Reza Marashi - Analysis
The political psychology of talks with the P5+1and fluid facts on the ground throughout the region hardened Iran's stance during talks in Istanbul.
|
|
Sen. Lieberman Presents Plan for Confronting Iran in Speech to AIPAC
Thursday, February 17, 2011
By: Sarah Oliai - News
Senator Joe Lieberman spoke before the AIPAC Board of Directors on Tuesday about confronting Iran, stating that "we must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to prevent the unacceptable."
|
|
US Officials Offer Little Clarity On Unintended Consequences of Iran Sanctions
Thursday, February 17, 2011
By: Sarah Oliai - News
Senior State and Treasury Department officials convened last week to discuss the implementation of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (CISADA) of 2010, but failed to offer concrete guidance to a large audience of legal professionals trying to navigate the complex legislation.
|
|
NIAC Applauds Senate Call for Human Rights Monitor
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC applauds Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and 23 other Senators who today called for the Obama Administration to work with the international community to establish an independent UN human rights monitor on Iran when the UN Human Rights Council convenes this March.
|
|
Take Action to Help Stop Human Rights Abuses in Iran
Friday, February 11, 2011
By: NIAC Staff
The threats, abuses, and political killings in Iran must stop. The UN has a chance to finally take serious measures to help stop these horrific abuses. Take action now and you add your voice to the call for serious action on human rights in Iran at the UN.
|
|
Neoconservative Film Makes Case for Crippling Sanctions, Military Action against Iran
Thursday, February 10, 2011
By: Todd Ruffner - News
"Iran is at war with the United States, and we are not responding," declared Michael Ledeen at the February 8th screening of a new film, Iranium, on Capitol Hill. The film calls for "crippling sanctions" against Iran and asserts that "if economic pressure is not successful then military force may be utilized."
|
|
Independent UN Experts Call for Moratorium on Death Penalty in Iran
Friday, February 4, 2011
By: David Elliott - News
Two independent UN experts called for Iran to halt executions on Wednesday, warning that there had been a dramatic surge in death sentences carried out in the absence of internationally recognized safeguards for fair trails.
|
|
Expert Panel Contends Diplomacy, Verification Solution Can Resolve Iranian Nuclear Issue
Friday, January 21, 2011
By: Todd Ruffner - News
A panel of nuclear nonproliferation and foreign policy experts explained the necessity of serious diplomacy with Iran and outlined concrete steps for a solution to the nuclear issue.
|
|
Leading Diplomats, Experts and Organizations Call on Obama to Reinvigorate Diplomacy with Iran
Thursday, January 20, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
On the eve of talks between the P5+1 and Iran in Istanbul, a diverse group of leading diplomats, experts, and organizations have called on the Obama Administration to reinvigorate diplomacy with Iran.
|
|
The Heavy Costs of War with Iran
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
By: Reza Marashi - Opinion
Political memory in the United States can be remarkably short. At the end of the Bush administration and throughout the 2008 presidential campaign, it became clear that the majority of Americans wanted U.S. domestic and foreign policies to change for the better.
|
|
How U.S. Laws Can Affect Your Personal Affairs in Iran
Thursday, January 13, 2011
By: Special Contributor, Farhad R. Alavi
U.S. sanctions against Iran are very strict and comprehensive. Most day to day activities are regulated by OFAC, which is tasked with enforcing the Iranian Transactions Regulations (ITR), a body of regulations governing the trade in goods, services, and technology between the United States and Iran.
|
|
Arbitrary Arrests and Detentions Demonstrate Need for Serious International Efforts
Monday, January 10, 2011
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC condemns today's sentencing of prominent human rights lawyers Nasrin Sotoudeh and Shiva Nazar Ahari, and the December sentence handed down against Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi.
|
|
NIAC Commends Serious Proposal to Help Prevent War in Defense Authorization
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC strongly supports the advancement of a Congressional provision regarding a potential Incidents at Sea agreement between the US, Iran, and other states to avoid military confrontation in the Persian Gulf.
|
|
Iran's Human Rights Situation Receives Much Concern, Little Action at UN Human Rights Council
Monday, December 20, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
Iran was the top country of concern at the United Nations Human Rights Council over the past year, yet the body has failed to take any concrete steps to address Iran's human rights situation.
|
|
Pro-Iran War Resolution Fizzles but Further Push for Military Options May Be on Horizon
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
A resolution introduced by 47 House Republicans endorsing Israeli military strikes on Iran will expire at the end of they year, but there are signals that a new Congress may renew a push for war with Iran.
|
|
The US Navy's Dangerous Name Game in the Persian Gulf
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - Opinion
In a move that threatens to exacerbate tensions in a region already pushed to the brink, the US Navy recently circulated an official directive to its personnel to refer to the Persian Gulf by the propaganda term "Arabian Gulf."
|
|
New Sanctions, Delisting MEK from Terror List, and War Options Top House Committee's Iran Agenda
Friday, December 3, 2010
By: NIAC News
As the House of Representatives prepares to switch from Democratic to Republican control in January, signals of the coming Iran agenda were on display at a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday.
|
|
NPR: Leaks Cast Doubt Over U.S. Intent On Iran Diplomacy
Friday, December 3, 2010
By: NIAC In the News
NIAC's Research Director Reza Marashi discussed what the Wikileaks cables reveal about Obama's Iran diplomacy efforts on NPR's Morning Edition.
|
|
WikiLeaks: US-Iran Relations "Now What" Moment?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
By: Reza Marashi
As negotiations in Geneva commence this weekend, it would be wise for both sides to utilize lessons learned -- from the previous round of diplomacy, and from the WikiLeaks debacle -- to maximize the chances for successful diplomacy.
|
|
Video: NIAC President and Board Member Discuss Wikileaks and War with Iran on MSNBC
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
By: NIAC Staff
Trita Parsi and Juan Cole appeared on MSNBC to discuss revelations from the Wikileaks release of US diplomatic cables and the implications for US policy, the Middle East, and preventing war with Iran.
|
|
NIAC President on NPR to Discuss Consequences of Wikileaks for US Iran Policy
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
By: NPR's To The Point
Trita Parsi was a guest on NPR's 'To the Point' and discussed what recent Wikileaks revelations will mean for future choices regarding US engagement with Iran. (Dr. Parsi's segment begins at 16:08.)
|
|
Iraq War Architect Rejects Iran Engagement, Advocates for US-led "Regime Change"
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
Speaking at an event on Monday, the Chairman of Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee under President Bush called diplomatic solutions regarding Iran "nonsense" and called for a shift to US-led regime change.
|
|
MEK Supporters in Congress Turn up Pressure on Administration to Take Group off Terrorist List
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
By: NIAC News
Efforts in the House of Representatives to press the Obama Administration to remove the Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) from the United States list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations have accelerated in the past week.
|
|
Experts Urge US to Recalibrate Iran Engagement Efforts
Friday, November 19, 2010
By: Lily Samimi - News
With negotiations with Iran expected to commence soon, the Stimson Center and the US Institute of Peace this week released a report offering recommendations for a successful engagement strategy.
|
|
NIAC Renews Call for UN Human Rights Monitor on Iran
Thursday, November 18, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC welcomes today's advancement of a United Nations resolution concerning the situation of human rights in Iran but is deeply disappointed that the resolution fails to establish a mandate for an independent human rights monitor on Iran.
|
|
Conference Focuses on "Regime Change" in Iran through U.S., Western Intervention
Thursday, November 18, 2010
By: Patrick Heffner - News
On Wednesday, the neoconservative group Freedom Watch held a conference "to help convince the new Congress ... to push harder for U.S. and western intervention to remove this dangerous radical Islamic regime before it is too late."
|
|
Lieberman to Push for Iran War Resolution?
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - Opinion
Senator Joe Lieberman on Tuesday signaled that the incoming Congress may consider endorsing war with Iran.
|
|
Questions Linger About Nokia Siemens Involvement in Iran
Monday, November 15, 2010
By: Lily Samimi - News
Ali Herischi, attorney representing Isa and Mehdi Saharkhiz in a lawsuit against Nokia Siemens Networks, along with members of the global community dispute Nokia's allegations that they have ended their involvement with the Iranian government.
|
|
Want to Defuse the Iran Crisis?
Friday, November 12, 2010
By: Dr. Trita Parsi and Reza Marashi - Opinion
NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi and President Trita Parsi outline five lessons for US negotiators at the upcoming P5+1 talks with Iran in Foreign Policy magazine.
|
|
United 4 Iran: Send an E-Letter for Safe Release of Iranian Human Rights Lawyer
Monday, November 8, 2010
By: NIAC Staff
Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi urges all to send an e-letter for the safe release of Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.
|
|
Republican Iran Saber Rattling is Bad for National Security and Harmful for Iranian Human Rights Defenders
Sunday, November 7, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC deplores Senator Lindsey Graham's dangerous rhetoric calling for the US to "neuter" Iran through military action
|
|
Time for Obama to call his opponents' bluff on Iran
Friday, November 5, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - Opinion
With Republicans now sharing the burden of governing in the next Congress, President Obama has an opportunity to define the terms of the Iran debate instead of spending two more years capitulating to a Democratic Congress worried about appearing weak or out of sync with hardliners on the Iran issue.
|
|
Rights Advocates Discuss the Future of Human Rights and Democracy in Iran
Thursday, November 4, 2010
By: Lily Samimi - News
Human rights activists, scholars, journalists, and diplomats converged at the Roshan Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland to discuss the future of Iran's human rights movement.
|
|
NIAC Gravely Concerned By Reports of Imminent Execution in Iran, Urges Systematic International Approach
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
Amid renewed fears that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani may be facing imminent execution, NIAC reiterates its call for the United States to work with members of the international community to establish a strong international mechanism to address Iran's ongoing human rights crisis.
|
|
Experts Agree that Nuclear Issue Should Not Distract From Human Rights
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
By: Patrick Heffner - News
The Iranian government is "taking advantage of the nuclear program" to distract western governments from the issue of human rights, according to Mojtaba Vahedi.
|
|
Analysts Debate the Iran-Israel-US Triangle
Thursday, October 21, 2010
By: Patrick Heffner - News
American, Iranian, and Israeli commentators shared their perspectives on the relationship between all three countries at a round table sponsored by the US Institute for Peace, discussing the impact of sanctions and the potential for war.
|
|
Majd Reflects on Civil Rights, Sanctions and the Iranian Challenge for Democracy
Monday, October 18, 2010
By: Lily Samimi - News
Hooman Majd discussed his new book, The Ayatollah's Democracy: An Iranian Challenge, which reveals the perspectives of top officials and members of the opposition in the weeks and months that unfolded after June 12.
|
|
State Department Updates Iran Travel Warning
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
By: Patrick Heffner - News
The State Department renewed its travel warning for Iran, cautioning United States citizens on dangers of visiting the country.
|
|
NIAC Works to Prevent Banking Sanctions from Hitting Innocent Iranian Americans
Friday, October 8, 2010
By: Patrick Heffner - News
As efforts to isolate Iran's financial industry from the international community escalate, Iranians and Iranian Americans are increasingly running into new banking difficulties due to new US financial sanctions.
|
|
NGOs quietly press for access to Iran (Christian Science Monitor)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
By: Ariel Zirulnick
Despite intensified sanctions on Iran, US-based nongovernmental organizations are trying to prove that they should be allowed to work in the country. The process is daunting enough that many groups give up.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Obama Effort Targeting Human Rights Abusers in Iran
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC welcomes President Obama's signing of an Executive Order that imposes targeted sanctions on Iranian government officials responsible for human rights violations against the Iranian people.
|
|
Reporter Explores Iran Behind the Headlines
Friday, September 24, 2010
By: Patrick Heffner - News
Scott Peterson, a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor who has visited Iran thirty times in the last fifteen years, discussed his new book, Let the Swords Encircle Me: Behind the Headlines of Iran.
|
|
Senators Call for UN Human Rights Monitor on Iran
Thursday, September 23, 2010
By: David Elliott - News
A bipartisan group of Senators are urging the Obama Administration to undertake serious efforts to address Iran's human rights crisis at the United Nations this fall. The group, led by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging the Obama Administration to work to pass a resolution at the United Nations establishing a human rights monitor for Iran.
|
|
Top Official Addresses Iran Sanctions Concerns, Says US Leverage Increasing
Thursday, September 23, 2010
By: Patrick Heffner - News
Under Secretary of the Treasury Stuart Levey discussed the administration's view that US leverage for a diplomatic solution with Iran is increasing. He also addressed concerns about the negative impact of sanctions on the Iranian people.
|
|
Experts Debate Whether a Nuclear Iran Could Be Deterred
Thursday, September 23, 2010
By: Setareh Tabatabaie - News
Three prominent experts discussed the limitations of military options in stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons at the Woodrow Wilson Center last week.
|
|
Iran's Foreign Policy Blunders
Thursday, September 23, 2010
By: Patrick Heffner - News
Dr. Shireen Hunter, director of the Islamic Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, spoke at Georgetown University this past Thursday about Iran's foreign policy missteps and the dangerous trajectory of the United States' policies.
|
|
Video: Prevent War With Iran!
Friday, September 17, 2010
By: NIAC Staff
A special message from Reza Aslan about the threat of war between the US and Iran and how we can prevent such a disastrous outcome.
|
|
NIAC Calls on Obama Administration to Support a UN Human Rights Monitor on Iran
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council calls on President Obama to support the establishment of a UN human rights monitor on Iran at the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly to report on violations taking place inside the country.
|
|
It's Time for Obama to Support a UN Rights Monitor on Iran
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
By: Dokhi Fassihian
Over the past year, the Obama Administration has missed successive opportunities to bring real international pressure on the Iranian government to address the severe human rights crisis gripping the country.
|
|
NIAC Calls for Release of Shiva Nazar Ahari
Thursday, September 2, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC condemns the imprisonment of Iranian human rights activist Shiva Nazar Ahari and reiterates its call for the Iranian government to release all political prisoners, including Ms. Ahari, who are being held in contravention of Iran's constitutional international legal obligations.
|
|
Stop the War Talk
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
By: Reza Aslan & Bernard Avishai, New York Times Op-Ed
The New York Times - The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington, purportedly to be part of the Obama administration's relaunch of peace negotiations. But the urgent talk is of war, thanks to Jeffrey Goldberg's much-discussed Atlantic Monthly cover article, which faithfully reproduced the logic of Israeli military and political leaders.
|
|
Rep. Sherman Wants to Help Ahmadinejad Punish Innocent Iranians
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - Opinion
Iran's rulers hardly need assistance to make the lives of Iranians miserable. Iranians are suffering mightily under their government's flagrant human rights abuses, political repression, and economic mismanagement but, writing in the Hill last week, Representative Brad Sherman argued that punishing the Iranian people is exactly what the US should do.
|
|
NIAC Condemns Alleged Torture of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani
Thursday, August 12, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC calls on the Iranian government to comply with its international human rights obligations and to suspend Ashtiani's death sentence, as well as the sentences of all other Iranians who have been tortured to elicit false confessions or who have otherwise not been provided fair trials.
|
|
Neocon War Plans Undermine Iranians' Quest for Democracy
Thursday, August 12, 2010
By: Shawn Amoei - Opinion
Bombing Iran would do nothing short of destroy Iran's chances for democracy. Neoconservatives who argue an attack on Iran would do wonders for the Green Movement are pushing an idea that is not just wrong, but dangerous.
|
|
The Senate Calls on Iran to Release Three Detained Americans
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
By: Shahrzad Safavi - News
The Senate unanimously passed a resolution yesterday calling for the "immediate" and "unconditional" release of three American hikers being detained in Iran.
|
|
The Republican back door to war with Iran
Friday, July 30, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - Opinion
Foreign Policy Magazine - A game plan to draw the United States into a third war in the Middle East may be quietly unfolding before our eyes.
|
|
Testing for Iranian Students Reinstated but Sanctions Concerns Linger
Thursday, July 29, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
Exams that are required for students to study abroad have been reinstated in Iran after being disrupted temporarily by US and UN sanctions.
|
|
Resolution Green-Lighting Israeli Strikes on Iran Introduced by House Republicans
Friday, July 23, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi
The Huffington Post - Republicans in the House of Representatives have introduced a measure that would green-light an Israeli bombing campaign against Iran.
|
|
Is a Nuclear Deal Still Possible?
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
By: Shawn VL - News
Washington, DC - "Is a nuclear deal still possible? The deal is of course possible but is it likely? Not anytime soon," according to Michael Adler at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Monday. Adler examined the current standoff between Washington and Tehran over the nuclear program, along with the West's demand that Iran give up uranium enrichment activities.
|
|
Can Obama Keep his Promise to Iran's Youth?
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi
Late last week, it was revealed that young Iranians looking to attend college abroad are now facing serious impediments because of new sanctions. In placing "pressure" at the center of his Iran policy, every other element of the President's Iran strategy is being subsumed by a singular focus on punitive actions, including the President's "outstretched hand" promises to the critical demographic of Iranian youth.
|
|
Urge President Obama to Keep His Promise to Iranian Students
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
By: NIAC Staff
Young Iranians are being blocked by new sanctions from studying abroad. President Obama promised to expand opportunities for Iranian students, not restrict them. Urge the President to honor his promise.
|
|
Oklahoma Politicians Stand Up for Iranian People
Friday, July 16, 2010
By: Shawn Amoei - News
What's happening in Oklahoma? That's the question many Iranian Americans might be asking themselves after a number of Oklahoman politicians recently stepped up to advocate for policies that would support the Iranian people by relieving unintended pressure placed on them by U.S. sanctions.
|
|
NIAC Hosts Members for Inside Look at Latest Developments in Washington
Monday, July 12, 2010
By: NIAC Staff
NIAC members across the nation today joined NIAC staff for an off-the-record conference call featuring Dr. Forough Parvizian-Yazdani, who represented NIAC at the signing of Iran sanctions at the White House on July 1.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Successful International Efforts to Halt Stoning Execution
Thursday, July 8, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
"Today's decision demonstrates why it is so critical for the U.S. and the international community to engage publicly on the issue of human rights in Iran," said Jamal Abdi, NIAC Policy Director.
|
|
Obama Signs Sanctions Law, Highlights Measures Called for by NIAC
Friday, July 2, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
The President yesterday signed new sanctions into law aimed broadly at the Iranian economy. NIAC is opposed to this measure because it will punish innocent Iranians instead of targeting Iran's government. The final bill did include some of the measures NIAC has actively worked to support, which were highlighted by the President during the bill's signing ceremony.
|
|
"My Conversation with President Obama Yesterday"
Friday, July 2, 2010
By: Forough Parvizian-Yazdani
NIAC Board Member Forough Parvizian-Yazdani had the honor of talking to President Obama in the White House yesterday. Here is the message she shared about her experience.
|
|
NIAC Urges Obama to Publicly Press Iran to Halt Execution of Zeinab Jalalian
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council is gravely concerned by reports that the Iranian government plans to execute Zeinab Jalalian, and urgently calls on President Obama to raise this issue publicly and to press Iran to halt the execution.
|
|
Iranian-Kurdish Activist Faces Threat of Imminent Execution
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
By: Shawn VI - News
Zeinab Jalalian, a 27 year old Iranian-Kurdish activist, is reportedly in imminent danger of being executed after being convicted of Moharebeh, or waging war against God, in a trial that has been roundly condemned as unfair and unjust by human rights defenders in Iran and around the world.
|
|
House Says Iran is Using Nuclear Program to Distract from Human Rights Abuses
Thursday, June 24, 2010
By: NIAC Staff
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution today marking the one-year anniversary of Iran's June 12, 2009, elections. The resolution condemns the human rights abuses of Iran's government, calls for "freedom and democracy for the people of Iran," and condemns Iran's "continued pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability."
|
|
Congress moves forward with 'crippling sanctions' (and misses opportunity to support Iranians)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
On Monday, the latest version of Congress's sanctions bill was unveiled just in time to be passed and sent to the president's desk by July 4. But while lawmakers have attempted to reconcile the pain that these new sanctions will impose on ordinary Iranians with Congress's claims of support for the people of Iran, this bill remains a blunt instrument that perpetuates the sanctions-only framework that has dominated the United States' Iran policy for decades.
|
|
NIAC Deeply Concerned by Congressional Sanctions Agreement
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
While the Agreement contains some positive measures called for by NIAC to punish Iranian human rights abusers and ease restrictions preventing Iranians from accessing the Internet, these measures do not negate the fact that the bill imposes further suffering upon the people of Iran at their greatest moment of need and perpetuates a failed US sanctions policy that has hindered the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people.
|
|
Analysis: Obama's Pursuit of Sanctions Came at Expense of Human Rights
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
By: David Elliott - Analysis
The Huffington Post - The Obama Administration made a conscious decision to forgo a major push on human rights in Iran so as to not distract from the all-important UN sanctions push, according to multiple officials who've worked with the Administration on Iran's human rights crisis.
|
|
NIAC Releases Video of March 10, 2010 Capitol Hill Conference
Thursday, June 17, 2010
By: NIAC Release
Complete video coverage is now available for NIAC's March 10, 2010 Conference held on Capitol Hill titled: "Iran at a Crossroads: Assessing a Changing Landscape."
|
|
Green Movement Honored with NED 2010 Democracy Award
Thursday, June 17, 2010
By: Setareh Tabatabaie - News
The National Endowment for Democracy honored the Green Movement of Iran with the 2010 Democracy Award last Thursday. At the award ceremony, various experts helped shed light on the complex hopes and challenges of the Iranian people in their struggles for democracy.
|
|
NIAC Board Member Highlights Iran's Human Rights Abuses at UN
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - News
On June 10th, the United Nations Human Rights Council held a review of Iran's human rights record as part of the Universal Periodic Review process. Member states and stakeholder organizations participated in the review, including NIAC Board Member Dokhi Fassihian and journalist Omid Memarian.
|
|
America's Future Partners: Turkey and Iran?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
By: Shawn Amoei - News
Stephen Kinzer spoke Monday at the New America Foundation to shed some light on the history of Turkey and Iran that most people don't know and offer his vision for a strategic realignment in the Middle East.
|
|
NIAC Calls on Iran to End Abuses, US to Engage on Human Rights Ahead of Election Anniversary
Friday, June 11, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
As the one-year anniversary of Iran's 2009 presidential elections approaches, the National Iranian American Council reiterates its call for the government of Iran to end its campaign of repression and implores the United States and the world community to not neglect the Iranian people's struggle for human rights.
|
|
Experts Explore Iran's "Political Purgatory"
Friday, June 11, 2010
By: Shawn Vaziri
"The old Iran, the status quo ante is dead, in my view. But it has a lot of poison in it; it has a lot of ability to do harm," Abbas Milani said on Tuesday, speaking alongside Karim Sadjapour and Gary Sick on a panel moderated by NPR's Steve Inskeep at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
|
|
Congressmen working with MEK to remove terrorist designation
Thursday, June 10, 2010
By: David Elliott
Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) held an event today to introduce a resolution calling for the Obama administration to remove the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran [MEK] from the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
|
|
Packed Crowd for NIAC Hill Briefing on Iran One Year After Election
Thursday, June 10, 2010
By: Shahrzad Safavi
NIAC held a briefing on Tuesday with over 80 Congressional staffers to discuss the Green Movement and the anniversary of the 2009 presidential election, the nuclear fuel swap proposal, and US and UN sanctions against Iran.
|
|
Fmr. Bush Adm. Officials Argue Iran Strike May Be Necessary
Thursday, June 10, 2010
By: Shawn Amoei
"Containment is an illusion," declared Elliott Abrams during a panel discussion on Tuesday hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). Abrams spoke alongside former Bush State Department official Nicholas Burns as the two unveiled a new report on whether an Iran armed with nuclear weapons could be contained.
|
|
The Week in Green Episode 26: NIAC President Dr. Trita Parsi
Monday, June 7, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC Advisory Board Member and "The Week in Green" Host Prof. Hamid Dabashi interviews NIAC President Dr. Trita Parsi about the discourse in US politics over the Iranian nuclear negotiations.
|
|
Reuters: Powers should consider Iran fuel offer: experts
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
By: Reuters
World powers should seriously consider a newly-drafted fuel swap plan for Iran to part with some of its nuclear material, even if it is not perfect, a group of high-profile experts said in a statement organized and distributed by NIAC.
|
|
Iran, Nonproliferation Experts Support Fuel Swap as Basis for Engagement
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
Today, a group of Iran experts and non-proliferation experts are releasing a statement urging Western powers to use the recently-negotiated fuel swap deal as a first step towards a larger agreement on Iran's nuclear issue and beyond.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Iran's Nuke Deal Irritates Washington
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis
ABC News - A noticeable irritation can be sensed in Washington. After months of investing in a new UN Security Council resolution and an escalation of the conflict and apparently winning agreement among the permanent members of the council for such a measure, two emerging powers had the audacity to intervene and find a solution.
|
|
NIAC Memo: The Turkey-Brazil-Iran deal: Can Washington take 'yes' for an answer?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
Foreign Policy Magazine - The Brazilian-Turkish diplomatic breakthrough with Iran has taken Washington by surprise. Clearly, the geopolitical center of gravity has shifted-five years of EU-led negotiations led nowhere while the new emerging powers Brazil and Turkey only needed a few months to produce a breakthrough.
|
|
NIAC Members Chat with Advisory Board Member Reza Aslan
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
By: NIAC Staff
On Wednesday, May 13, NIAC held its first Member's only chat with Advisory Board Member Reza Aslan. The conversation discussed issues ranging from sanctions on Iran to the status of the Green Movement to the upcoming film, Prince of Persia.
|
|
"Not one, not two ...they were five" by Simin Behbahani
Monday, May 17, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC is pleased to present a new poem by the Lioness of Iran, Simin Behbahani. A champion of human rights, Behbahani is in Iran and has been banned from leaving the country. Prof. Fatemeh Keshavarz of Washington University of St. Louis provided the translation.
|
|
The Week in Green Episode 23: NIAC Advisory Board Member Reza Aslan
Friday, May 14, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC Advisory Board Member and "The Week in Green" Host Prof. Hamid Dabashi interviews Reza Aslan, a fellow NIAC Advisory Board Member, journalist and scholar of religions. Aslan is the author of the critically acclaimed No God but God, and his latest book is Beyond Fundamentalism.
|
|
NIAC Condemns Iranian Executions Ahead of Election Anniversary
Monday, May 10, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC condemns in the strongest possible terms the execution of five political prisoners on May 9 by the Iranian government.
|
|
Video: Trita Parsi on The Century Foundation Panel
Monday, May 10, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC President Dr. Trita Parsi spoke on a panel at The Century Foundation's "Turning Back the Bomb: Hard Cases & Grand Designs." The panel also featured Amb. Gerard Araud, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, Christine Wing of NYU, and Randy Rydell of the United Nations.
|
|
Since When Is Iran a Champion For Women's Rights?
Thursday, May 6, 2010
By: Anne Bayefsky - Opinion
FoxNews.com -- In an effort to prevent Iran's election to the Commission, the National Iranian American Council reported prior to the meeting: "in the past year, Iran...has charged women who were seeking equality in the social sphere...with threatening national security...
|
|
Military Strikes May be Necessary say Congressional Iran Sanctions Negotiators
Thursday, April 29, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - News
Congress' march to impose new sanctions on Iran entered the final stretch yesterday afternoon, with Members of the House and Senate convening a public meeting at the Capitol to reconcile differences between broad sanctions measures passed by each chamber.
|
|
NIAC Releases March 10, 2010 Conference Transcript
Thursday, April 29, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC is pleased to release the transcript for the March 10, 2010 Conference "Iran at a Crossroads: Assessing a Changing Landscape." The Conference was convened to address the latest issues facing US-Iran relations such as: the future of Iran's opposition movement, the rising prospect of military action, and the result of increased sanctions on the Green Movement.
|
|
Iran, Gender Discrimination, and the UN's Women's Commission
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
By: NIAC Board Mem. Dokhi Fassihian, Hadi Ghaemi, and S.B. Anderlini
The Iranian regime must have a real sense of humor. In a year when their human rights abuses reached ever lower depths with an exponential rise in political prisoners, prison rapes, torture and executions, the regime tried to get a prime spot on the UN Human Rights Council.
|
|
Is the Sanctions Debate Justifying the Military Option?
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
By: Patrick Disney - Analysis
To an outsider, it may seem like Washington is united in favor of imposing new sanctions on Iran. But, like in Iran itself, the internal wrangling over this question among Washington policymakers is much more complex and divided by factions than one may assume.
|
|
Report: Iran's bid for UN human rights panel seat fails
Friday, April 23, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - News
The Iranian government's appalling human rights record will not be rewarded with a seat at the United Nations Human Rights Council, with reports indicating that Iran will no longer seek election to the Council this May.
|
|
The Hill: Changing Course on Iran Sanctions
Friday, April 23, 2010
By: Patrick Disney and Lara Friedman - Opinion
The debate over U.S.-Iran policy should not be boiled down to a question of how much more damage we can do. Rather, smart power dictates that the U.S. use every tool available, including those that have been taken off the table, such as lifting certain sanctions.
|
|
What You Need to Know About Congress' Iran Sanctions
Thursday, April 22, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - Analysis
This morning, the House voted to begin Conference with the Senate to finalize an Iran sanctions bill to send to the President. Many questions remain about what is next, here are some key resources to help you navigate the process.
|
|
NGO Coalition Calls on U.S. to Lift Ban on Humanitarian Relief for Iranians
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC led a coalition of humanitarian relief and human rights organizations that called on the U.S. government today to allow American NGOs to undertake humanitarian projects in Iran.
|
|
The Stand With the Iranian People Challenge
Thursday, April 15, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC is issuing a challenge to the entire Iranian-American community: don't let the Iranian people be forgotten. Tell your elected representatives in Washington that they can't ignore the Iranian people any longer. Stand up for their rights, and Stand With the Iranian People!
|
|
CNN Reports on Hamed Haddadi, the NBA's 1st Iranian Player
Thursday, April 15, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
CNN's Richard Roth reports from New Jersey on the only Iranian player in the NBA - the Memphis Grizzlies' Hamed Haddadi. As the season comes to a close, Roth reflects on Haddadi's past few months and how he has exposed his teammates to Persian food and culture. (Video)
|
|
War with Iran by Any Other Name
Thursday, March 25, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - Opinion
The Huffington Post - This week may be looked back on as the pivotal moment when war with Iran entered the mainstream of political thought in the Obama era. "Bomb Bomb Iran" may be finally crossing over to the pop charts.
|
|
Congressman to Introduce Resolution Supporting Israeli Strike on Iran
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
By: Patrick Disney - News
A draft resolution is circulating among members of the House of Representatives that endorses an Israeli military attack on Iran "if no other peaceful solution can be found within reasonable time."
|
|
NIAC Condemns Iran Death Sentences
Monday, March 15, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council condemns in the strongest possible terms today's issuance of six death sentences by Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi for individuals accused of involvement in Ashura protests.
|
|
Broad Strategic Outlook Vital for US to Avoid Iran Confrontation
Friday, March 12, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
A look at the afternoon panel discussion at NIAC's policy conference, entitled "The US and Iran: Back to Confrontation?"
|
|
Moms Against Poverty Supports SWIPA
Thursday, March 11, 2010
By: Michelle Moghtader - News
Moms Against Poverty supports the Stand With the Iranian People Act as a means to help lift obstacles which are inhibiting them from performing charitable work in Iran.
|
|
NIAC Applauds Administration's Correction of Harmful Internet Sanctions
Monday, March 8, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council applauds today's Treasury Department decision to reverse harmful policies barring U.S. Internet communication software from being available to Iranians.
|
|
NIAC Urges Swift Action on Internet Freedom
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
By: Layla Armeen - News
NIAC sent a letter today to the Director of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) calling for a general license to support Iranians' access to information and communication tools online
|
|
A Blueprint for Ending Human Rights Abuses in Iran
Sunday, February 28, 2010
By: Sam Shoamanesh and Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
Harvard International Review - Sam Sasan Shoamanesh and Dr. Trita Parsi call for a list of internal and external measures to improve the human rights situation in Iran, originally published in the Harvard International Review.
|
|
House Commission Hears Recommendations for Human Rights in Iran
Friday, February 26, 2010
By: Patrick Disney - News
NIAC President Trita Parsi testified before the House Human Rights Commission, urging lawmakers to place a greater emphasis on the human rights issue in dealing with Iran.
|
|
Congressional Testimony of Trita Parsi on Human Rights in Iran
Thursday, February 25, 2010
By: Dr. Trita Parsi
NIAC President Trita Parsi testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission today about the human rights situation in Iran. His written testimony is available here.
|
|
House, Senate Propose New Human Rights Sanctions on Iran
Thursday, February 25, 2010
By: Layla Armeen - News
Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman have introduced legislation to impose sanctions on individuals in Iran guilty of human rights abuses following the June 12 election.
|
|
Bam 6.6 Highlights Humanity in Tragedy, Need for Easing of Humanitarian Restrictions
Friday, February 19, 2010
By: Arsalan Barmand - News
In Bam 6.6: Humanity Has No Borders, Iranian American director and producer Jahangir Golestan-Parast presents a new dimension to the tragedy that beautifully highlights Iranian culture and hospitality in ways rarely experienced by non-Iranians.
|
|
Shadi Sadr Testifies at the UN on Her Imprisonment
Monday, February 15, 2010
By: Shadi Sadr
Iranian lawyer and women rights' defender Shadi Sadr testified on Friday February 12 at the United Nations regarding her arrest and detention in July 2009.
|
|
Senate Condemns Rights Violations, Calls for UN Focus
Friday, February 12, 2010
By: Layla Armeen - News
The Senate unanimously passed a resolution yesterday condemning human rights violations in Iran and urging the UN Human Rights Council to fully investigate the events following last June's presidential election.
|
|
NIAC Memo: We Must Not Ignore Human Rights in Iran
Thursday, February 11, 2010
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Opinion
Now more than ever, the narrow nuclear focus must be set aside and renewed attention given to the state of human rights in Iran. It is literally a matter of life and death.
|
|
EU and US call on Iran to Uphold Human Rights on February 11
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
The United States and the European Union issued a joint statement on Monday, calling on the Iranian Government to fulfill its universal human rights obligations and expressing concern that increased violence may occur in the coming days.
|
|
NIAC Memo: How Washington Can Help the Greens in Iran
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
By: Alireza Nader and Dr. Trita Parsi
Torn between the fear of ending up on the wrong side of history by being too cautious and the fear of ending up undermining the pro-democracy movement by being too aggressive, Barack Obama's administration is playing a difficult balancing act.
|
|
SWIPA "Perfect" Abdo Tells House Committee
Friday, February 5, 2010
By: Nayda Lakelieh - News
"Iran is a sovereign state whose people are struggling bravely for their own freedom. It is natural and right for us to want to support their struggle. The question is how?"
|
|
NIAC Condemns Iranian Executions
Thursday, January 28, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC condemns in the strongest terms the Iranian government's execution of political dissidents Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmani Pour today.
|
|
NIAC Deplores Senate Vote to Sanction Iranian People
Thursday, January 28, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council deplores today's Senate passage of S.2799, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2009.
|
|
Obama Administration Officials' Statements on Iran Sanctions
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
By: NIAC Staff
A collection of Obama Administration officials' statements on the record regarding Iran sanctions.
|
|
NIAC Weighs in on Senate Sanctions Bill
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
By: NIAC Staff - News
With the Senate expected to approve comprehensive Iran legislation, S.2799, in the coming weeks, NIAC has released a guide offering suggested changes to the legislation that would bring the bill more in line with the Obama Administration's strategy.
|
|
The Latest Tool for Iran's Opposition: iPhone Apps
Monday, January 25, 2010
By: Jamal Abdi - Opinion
The Huffington Post - Iranians will soon have a new tool at their disposal to broadcast their protests and their government's repression to the outside world.
|
|
Analysis: H.R. 4303 - The Stand with the Iranian People Act
Monday, January 25, 2010
By: Patrick Disney - Analysis
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced H.R. 4303, the Stand with the Iranian People Act (SWIPA), to support the Iranian people's democratic movement by ensuring that America's Iran policy imposes pressure on the Iranian government--not the innocent Iranian people.
|
|
Clinton to Speak on Internet Freedom in Repressive Regimes
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
By: Patrick Disney - News
Washington, DC - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will deliver a speech tomorrow on global Internet freedom, in which she is expected to discuss the vital role the Internet has played for the Iranian opposition movement. According to the State Department, the speech will lay out the Administration's strategy for "protecting freedom in the networked age of the 21st Century."
|
|
Documentary on First Female Iranian Olympian to Premiere at Sundance
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
By: Arsalan Barmand - News
Fatima Geza Abdollahyan had just arrived back at her hotel in Amsterdam when she sat down to read her emails. After a long day at a documentary film festival, her tired eyes scanned the "Received From" column, finally coming to rest on "Sundance Festival 2010." "Oh," she thought to herself, "this must be the rejection letter."
|
|
NIAC Urges Iranian Government to Abandon the Path of Violence and Oppression
Thursday, January 14, 2010
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council calls on the Iranian government to heed the productive proposals of leading opposition figures and abandon the path of violence and oppression.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Ancient Persian Legacy Still Plays Role in Revolutionary Iran
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
By: Prof. R. K. Ramazani - Analysis
The crackdown on protesters on December 27, 2009 in Iran, which killed a number of people, touched off unprecedented criticism of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader, who is seen as ruling by divine approval.
|
|
Do Sanctions Work?: Iran, Proliferation, and US Policy
Friday, January 8, 2010
By: Matt Sugrue - Analysis
The Huffington Post - This report briefly compares two different forms of sanctions, and makes a tentative assessment about which types of sanctions could be applied to Iran with the most positive results.
|
|
U.S. Decides to Punish Iranian Regime, Not People
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
By: David Elliott - Analysis
The Huffington Post - The continued demonstration of strength by the Iranian opposition has not only showed the increasing isolation of Iran's ruling elite, but also helped cement a dramatic policy shift that has been quietly taking shape in the White House.
|
|
NIAC Applauds Shift Toward Targeted Sanctions
Thursday, December 31, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council welcomes the Obama administration's decision to pursue targeted sanctions on Iran's leaders rather than indiscriminate sanctions that would contribute to the suffering of the Iranian people.
|
|
Senate, UN Resolutions Condemn Rights Abuses in Iran
Monday, December 28, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Last Tuesday, the United States Senate passed a resolution, "Condemning the Government of Iran for restricting and suppressing freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly, and for its human rights abuses, and for other purposes."
|
|
NIAC Strongly Condemns Violence against Iranian Protesters during Ashura
Sunday, December 27, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council strongly condemns the unlawful violence used against Iranian protesters and mourners during Ashura over the weekend. The Council also welcomes the White House's condemnation of the "unjust suppression of civilians in Iran seeking to exercise their universal rights."
|
|
NIAC Memo: Has Iran Reached a Breaking Point?
Sunday, December 27, 2009
By: Dr. Rouzbeh Parsi and Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
With the government growing increasingly desperate - and violent - the new clashes on the streets in Iran may very well prove to be the breaking point of the regime. If so, it shows that the Iranian theocracy ultimately fell on its own sword.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Anatomy of a Nuclear Breakthrough Gone Backwards
Monday, December 21, 2009
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
Less than three months after rising expectations on the possibility of a breakthrough in the negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, hopes of sealing a deal that would transfer the bulk of Iran's low-enriched uranium abroad have dissipated.
|
|
White House Statement on Ayatollah Montazeri's Death
Monday, December 21, 2009
By: The White House
We express our condolences on the passing of Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Montazeri. He was known and internationally respected for his unwavering commitment to universal rights. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who seek to exercise the universal rights and freedoms that he so consistently advocated.
|
|
Social Network or Sanction? Let's Tweet About It
Friday, December 18, 2009
By: Mohammad Modarres - News
"Despite all the hype no one is organizing any revolutions over Twitter," said Ethan Zuckerman, of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.
|
|
NIAC Holds Capitol Hill Briefing on Human Rights Situation in Iran
Friday, December 18, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
On December 11, NIAC held a briefing for members of Congress and their staff, discussing the current state of the pro-democracy movement in Iran, and exploring ways in which human rights can be incorporated into US diplomacy with Iran.
|
|
NIAC Efforts to Reform Sanctions on Internet Tools for Iranians Successful
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council welcomes the decision by the Obama Administration to waive provisions of US sanctions that have kept important tools for online communication out of the hands of the Iranian people.
|
|
House Approves Gasoline Embargo
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
By: Matt Sugrue - News
The U.S. House of Representatives last night passed the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (H.R. 2194) by a vote of 412 12, with 4 voting present.
|
|
Some in Congress Get Smart on Iran
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
By: Patrick Disney - Opinion
The Huffington Post - Two new bills offer a new way forward on Iran. The Stand with the Iranian People Act (SWIPA), led by Rep. Keith Ellison, and the Iranian Digital Empowerment Act (IDEA), led by Rep. Jim Moran, both seek to redefine how Congress approaches the Iran issue, in favor of a smarter, more holistic strategy.
|
|
House Subcommittee Hears Reservations on Sanctions Ahead of Vote
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
By: Lloyd Chebaclo - News
Ahead of a vote on so-called "crippling" sanctions, the House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on National Security held a hearing on a new way forward regarding Iran sanctions.
|
|
The Stand With the Iranian People Act
Monday, December 14, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
The Stand with the Iranian People Act (SWIPA) changes the course on decades of failed US policies that have hurt the Iranian people and inadvertently contributed to their repression.
|
|
NIAC Lauds Introduction of Bills Helping the Iranian People
Monday, December 14, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council welcomes today's introduction of H.R. 4303, the Stand with the Iranian People Act, in the House of Representatives, and applauds the bill's sponsors Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MN) and William Delahunt (D-MA).
|
|
U.S.-Iran Policy Up for Debate
Friday, December 11, 2009
By: Lloyd Chebaclo - News
"If we approach diplomacy with the same sustainability, with the same stamina, with the same dedication, with the same determination, that we would pursue a military confrontation then we would see a different picture."
|
|
Amnesty International Releases Report Documenting Iran's Human Rights Abuses
Friday, December 11, 2009
By: Arsalan Barmand - News
Amnesty International released a report yesterday documenting the Iranian government's human rights abuses before, during and principally after the 12 June election--calling them the "worst in 20 years."
|
|
Congress Votes on New Iran Sanctions Next Week
Friday, December 11, 2009
By: Lloyd Chebaclo - News
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote next Tuesday on H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA). The bill, sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), is expected to pass easily.
|
|
Obama Should End Silence on Human Rights Abuses in Iran
Monday, December 7, 2009
By: Trita Parsi and Dokhi Fassihian - Opinion
The Huffington Post - Before nuclear diplomacy moves towards a premature ending, the Obama administration must act quickly to reinvigorate its human rights agenda.
|
|
Reporters Without Borders Launches Campaign To Support Iranian Journalists
Monday, December 7, 2009
By: Bardia Mehrabian and Arsalan Barmand - News
Iranian authorities regard photographers as spies," said "EM," an Iranian photojournalist who has recently sought refuge in France with the help of Reporters Without Borders.
|
|
Post-Election Iran: On the Streets and In the Prisons
Thursday, December 3, 2009
By: Lloyd Chebaclo - News
As a prisoner of Iran's Intelligence Ministry, Iason Athanasiadis witnessed a cultural struggle which he says is "by far the most important aspect of what is going on in Iran today if you want to understand it."
|
|
Senate Denounces Treatment of Baha'is in Iran
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
By: Matthew Sugrue - News
The Senate passed a resolution yesterday condemning the persecution of Baha'is by the government of Iran.
|
|
NIAC Joins Campaign to Make Neda Time Magazine's "Person of the Year"
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
The campaign to nominate Neda for Time's Person of the Year began with ordinary people in Iran. NIAC wants to amplify their voice and enable you to do the same.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Senate Passage of Iran Human Rights Resolution
Friday, November 20, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council applauds the Senate's passage yesterday of S.Res.355, which condemned Iran's deplorable human rights record, urged the restoration of meaningful human rights to all of Iran's citizens, and called for an immediate release of those wrongfully imprisoned in violation of their rights.
|
|
Iranian American Survey Shows Support for Human Rights, Diplomacy over More Sanctions
Thursday, November 19, 2009
By: Lloyd Chebaclo - News
A recent poll of the Iranian-American community by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) reveals greater concern for the domestic affairs of Iran and large support for human rights and democracy.
|
|
NIAC Stand's by its Record of Pursuing Peace Through Diplomacy
Friday, November 13, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
NIAC is proud of its work to advance US national security through a smarter and more effective policy on Iran. NIAC rejects the insinuations made by Washington Times that its activities are in violation of tax laws, the Foreign Agents Registration Act and lobbying disclosure laws.
|
|
Texas Rep. Introduces Resolution Supporting Iranian People's Struggle for Rights
Thursday, November 5, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX) has introduced a resolution expressing continued support for the Iranian people as they stand up for freedom, human rights, and fundamental elements of democracy.
|
|
Human Rights and the Battle for Iran
Thursday, November 5, 2009
By: Bardia Mehrabian - News
"It is in the national interest of the United States to press the human rights issue in Iran," said Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi as part of the first of two panel discussions at NIAC's Capitol Hill conference yesterday.
|
|
Experts Suggest Patience, a "Grand Agenda" for Iran Talks
Thursday, November 5, 2009
By: Matt Sugrue - News
"If the only thing [the United States] talks about with the Iranians is the nuclear issue, then our efforts to get out of the last thirty years of futility will fail," said Ambassador John Limbert, a former hostage in the US Embassy in Tehran and currently a professor at the US Naval Academy.
|
|
NIAC Condemns Prison Sentence for Iranian American Scholar
Thursday, October 29, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) condemns the Iranian Justice Ministry's decision to sentence Iranian American Kian Tajbakhsh to 12 years in prison.
|
|
House Denounces Treatment of Baha'is in Iran
Friday, October 23, 2009
By: Matt Sugrue - News
The House of Representatives passed a resolution yesterday condemning the persecution of Baha'is by the government of Iran.
|
|
NIAC Condemns Prison Sentence for Iranian American Scholar
Thursday, October 22, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) condemns the Iranian Justice Ministry's decision to sentence Iranian American Kian Tajbakhsh to 12 years in prison
|
|
NIAC Condemns Executions, Recent Human Rights Violations in Iran
Thursday, October 15, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) condemns a decision by the Iranian Justice Ministry to impose death sentences on three Iranians for allegedly participating in post-election protests.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes US-Iran Talks and the Inclusion of Human Rights
Thursday, October 15, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council welcomes the successful first meeting between representatives of the permanent five members of the Security Council plus Germany and Iran yesterday.
|
|
Iranian Scholars Urge US to Address Iran's Human Rights Violations
Thursday, October 8, 2009
By: Lloyd Chebaclo - News
108 scholars from the Iranian Diaspora have issued a statement about US-Iranian negotiations, recognizing the need for talks while emphasizing "a constructive dialogue with Iran must address the Iranian regime's recent brutalities."
|
|
NIAC Defeats Iran War Resolution: Blockade Bill Shelved by Congress
Saturday, October 3, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
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.
|
|
Former NIAC Associate pens op-ed in Washington Post
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Ali Scotten, a former intern at NIAC, was published with co-author Andrew Albertson in today's edition of the Washington Post. Their featured op-ed, titled "A Human Rights Lever for Iran," highlights the need to address the postelection human rights violations against the Iranian people.
|
|
Will the Focus at the UN Be on Ahmadinejad's Human Rights Abuses?
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Opinion
The Huffington Post - When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comes to the UN this week, his biggest fear will be that the visit will be marred by international condemnations over election fraud and the massive human rights abuses taking place in Iran under his watch.
|
|
Interview: Protesting Against Ahmadinejad at the UN
Monday, September 21, 2009
By: Lloyd Chebaclo - News
Bitta Mostofi of Where is My Vote? - NY is an organizer of the upcoming event "Voices for Iran: No to Ahmadinejad, Yes to Human Rights - Rally at the UN," coinciding with Ahmadinejad's visit to the UN on September 23.
|
|
NIAC Urges for Human Rights to be Included in Diplomacy with Iran
Monday, September 14, 2009
By: NIAC Statement
On October 1, the P5+1, consisting of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, are scheduled to begin talks with Iran. The National Iranian American Council strongly urges that human rights play an important role in these talks.
|
|
NIAC Memo: To Talk or to Sanction - Obama's Iran Dilemma
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
After masterfully - and unilaterally - changing the atmospherics between the two countries to make it more conducive to the success of diplomacy, while pushing back pressure from Israel and Congress to impose artificial deadlines for any negotiations with Iran, hardliners in Iran pulled the rug from under the feet of President Barack Obama.
|
|
NIAC Memo: IRGC Commander Acknowledges Military Involvement in Election Politics
Monday, September 7, 2009
By: Farideh Farhi - Analysis
Islamic Revolution's Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari's speech on September 2, delivered in front of early military leaders of the Iran-Iraq War was the first public acknowledgment of IRGC's direct involvement in the elections and the crackdown.
|
|
Throwing Ahmadinejad a Lifeline
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
By: Prof. Hossein Askari and Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
In an effort to squeeze Iran into submission over its nuclear policy, Congress and the White House are edging toward a gasoline embargo. This would do nothing to force Iran into submission. In fact, it would be a blessing for the hard-line government to once again be able to point to a foreign threat to justify domestic repression and consolidate its base at a time when opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is increasing among conservatives.
|
|
NIAC Condemns 'Show Trials' and Campaign of Repression in Iran
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council condemns the mass "show trial" of opposition figures and systematic abuse of detainees by Iranian authorities which have led to numerous deaths and injuries in custody.
|
|
Treasury rejects freezing Iran visitors' bank accounts
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
The United States Treasury has amended the way it enforces Iran sanctions to prevent the freezing of U.S. bank accounts of persons visiting Iran. The new regulations will protect Iranian Americans and others who travel to Iran from having their accounts frozen simply for being in Iran.
|
|
NIAC Memo: The case for a tactical pause with Iran
Thursday, July 30, 2009
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
No one said diplomacy with Iran would be easy. And now, before it even started, the Iranian election crisis has left Tehran politically paralyzed and Washington without a clear diplomatic path ahead.
|
|
Microsoft Continues to Ban Windows Live Messenger in Iran, Citing US Sanctions
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
By: Parisa Ghobbeh - News
In the midst of the post-election unrest in Iran, Microsoft has continued its ban on Windows Live Messenger service, citing US sanctions. The ban, which was instituted last year, discontinued Instant Messenger services in certain countries subject to United States sanctions, including Iran.
|
|
NIAC Calls for the Release of Kian Tajbakhsh, an End to Political Detentions and Abuse
Monday, July 13, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) condemns the arrest and imprisonment of Kian Tajbakhsh, an Iranian-American intellectual who was taken from his home in Iran and jailed late last Thursday.
|
|
Iran at a Crossroads: NIAC Member Survey
Monday, July 6, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
Washington, DC - The violence erupting in the aftermath of the Iran elections has left very few around the world untouched. At NIAC, we have followed the developments extremely closely and have been at the forefront of the debate in the U.S. on how our government should respond. Thanks to your help, NIAC is recognized as one of the key groups shaping U.S. policy towards Iran.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Reading Independence Day in Iran
Monday, July 6, 2009
By: Wm. Scott Harrop R.K. Ramazani - Analysis
When Americans celebrate the 4th of July, they often forget that the core purpose of the famous document penned by Thomas Jefferson was to declare independence from Great Britain. Had the colonies failed in that struggle for freedom to govern themselves, the Declaration of Independence's famous "unalienable" rights to equality, liberty, and life would have been rendered not self-evident.
|
|
Iran at a Crossroads: NIAC Member Survey
Monday, July 6, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
The violence erupting in the aftermath of the Iran elections has left very few around the world untouched. At NIAC, we have followed the developments extremely closely and have been at the forefront of the debate in the U.S. on how our government should respond.
|
|
Act to Stop the Violence in Iran
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
Iranian Americans and people all over the world have been touched by the courage of the Iranian people--and horrified by the violence used against them. Throughout the recent crisis, NIAC has been in contact with the White House almost daily to convey the views of our community, and policymakers have been listening.
|
|
NIAC calls on Iranian Government to end political detentions and violence against protesters
Monday, June 29, 2009
By: NIAC Statement
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.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Obama's Strong Condemnation of Violence by Iran's Government
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
By: NIAC Statement
The National Iranian American Council welcomes President Obama's condemnation of human rights abuses by the Iranian government and its use of violence against peaceful protesters.
|
|
NIAC Memo: What Obama Must Do Now On Iran
Monday, June 22, 2009
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
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.
|
|
NIAC Calls for New Election in Iran
Saturday, June 20, 2009
By: NIAC Statement
The National Iranian American Council strongly condemns the government of Iran's escalating violence against demonstrators and reiterates its demand that the government cease using lethal force against unarmed protesters and bystanders. The only plausible way to end the violence is for new elections to be held with independent monitors ensuring its fairness.
|
|
Amnesty International Denounces Khamenei's Remarks
Friday, June 19, 2009
By: Parisa Ghobbeh
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."
|
|
Iran Election Violence: What Should the US Do?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
Washington, DC - As the dramatic events in Iran continue to unfold, the thoughts and concerns of all of us here at NIAC are with the Iranian people and with the loved ones of all Iranian Americans who have been affected by the events of the last few days.
|
|
The Big Apple Raises $110,000 to Protect the Persepolis Tablets
Thursday, June 11, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Iranian-Americans from the New York tri-state area exceeded NIAC's fundraising goals and helped raise over $110,000 to go towards NIAC's efforts to protect the Persepolis Artifacts on May 30th at the Asia Society in Manhattan.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Ahmadinejad's Little Helpers
Monday, June 8, 2009
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
The Democratic House Leadership plans to put the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009 up for a vote just days ahead of the Iranian presidential election, a move that could strengthen Iranian hardliners
|
|
Supreme Court Case can Decide Fate of Persepolis Tablets
Friday, May 29, 2009
By: Ehsan Tabesh - Analysis
As the U.S. District Court decides the fate of thousands of historic Persian artifacts, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon determine whether U.S. citizens can sue the newly formed Republic of Iraq for the misdeeds of the former Saddam Hussein regime.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Why Iran's Presidential Race Could Make a Difference
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
By: Babak Rahimi - Analysis
Iran's presidential election is promising to be a major showdown. In what is shaping up to be a highly contested - yet limited - political arena, the upcoming election arrays competing factions that range from pragmatic conservatives to liberal reformists.
|
|
Clinton Against Imposing New Iran Sanctions For Now
Friday, May 22, 2009
By: David Elliott - News
Washington DC - "How we proceed with sanctions depends upon on how the engagement works," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Congress Wednesday.
|
|
Rep. Harman Retracts Statement on Iran, Expresses Regret
Thursday, May 21, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) welcomes Rep. Jane Harman's retraction and clarification of her statement regarding the "separation" of Iran's ethnic groups and regret for the concern it caused.
|
|
NIAC Responds to Rep. Harman's Disturbing Comments
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Washington DC - Following the inflammatory comments by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) earlier this month, NIAC has sent a letter expressing outrage at the Congresswoman's suggestion that Iran should be "separated" along ethnic lines.
|
|
From the Big Apple to the Bluegrass State, Iranian Americans Get Involved
Thursday, May 14, 2009
By: Michelle Moghtader - News
"I'm politically vocal and informed, but I'm not politically active," expressed a frustrated participant before the start of NIAC's Demystifying Democracy Workshop-Seven Ingredients of Influence in NY on April 26th at Columbia University.
|
|
Congress pushing new sanctions; supporter says "Iranians are going to die" if passed
Monday, May 11, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
Tell Congress to Support Our Diplomats, Not New Sanctions
|
|
Iran Condemned for Child Execution
Friday, May 1, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Delara Darabi was executed earlier today in Rasht prison for a crime committed when she was under the age of 18. According to Amnesty International, her lawyer was not informed about the execution, "despite the legal requirement that he should receive 48 hours notice."
|
|
House committee passes Iran divestment bill
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
By: NIAC Staff
The House Financial Services Committee unanimously approved by voice vote this morning H.R. 1327, the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009. The bill authorizes state and local governments to divest public funds from companies doing business in Iran.
|
|
Darius Shahinfar to Speak at NIAC's NY Workshop
Thursday, April 23, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Darius Shahinfar, the first generation American of Iranian descent who captivated the attention and interest of the Iranian American community from coast to coast during his campaign for the Democratic nominee for New York's 21st Congressional District will be speaking at NIAC's Demystifying Democracy Workshop this Sunday at Columbia University.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Why Roxana?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
Tehran's sentencing of Roxana Saberi to eight years of prison for spying has shocked people inside and outside the country. At a time when President Barack Obama is seeking a dialogue with Tehran, what kind of a signal does Roxana's sentencing send, especially given that the trial failed to meet the basic standards set by international conventions to which Iran is party?
|
|
Iranian-American Plastic Surgeon Volunteers around the Globe
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Many areas around the world today rely on doctors coming from outside and helping the local population. Iranian-American plastic surgeon Kaveh Alizadeh is one of the doctors that has chosen to dedicate much of his time to volunteering in different areas in need, working throughout Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
|
|
NIAC Condemns Iran's Jailing of Iranian-American Journalist
Sunday, April 19, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
Washington, DC - The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) condemns the government of Iran's dubious trial and jailing of Roxana Saberi. On Saturday, Saberi was convicted by an Iranian court on charges of espionage and given an eight-year prison sentence.
|
|
Iranian woman fearful of execution for crime committed as juvenile
Thursday, April 16, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Delara Darabi, 22, who has been detained in Rasht Prison since 2003 after being sentenced to death for a crime she committed at the age of 17, is "at imminent risk of being executed," according to her lawyer and Amnesty International.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Secretary of State's Appeal for Missing Americans in Iran
Thursday, April 2, 2009
By: NIAC Statement
"We ask Iran to use its facilities to determine the whereabouts and ensure the quick and safe return of Robert Levinson, and grant the release of Roxana Saberi, and permission to travel for Roxana Saberi and Esha Momeni," said Secretary of State Clinton.
|
|
Mountain in Bakhtiar Region in Iran Named After American nurse
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
By: Aisan Raisdana - News
Washington DC - Last year, family members of Helen Jeffreys Bakhtiar, an American nurse who served in Iran in the 1930s and 50s, learned that a mountain had been named in her honor in the Bakhtiari region of Iran.
|
|
LA Times: LA's Iranians Welcome Persian New Year - and Obama's Overture to their Homeland
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
By: Martha Groves, LA Times - News
Los Angeles, CA - Along Westwood Boulevard south of Wilshire Boulevard - a.k.a. "Tehrangeles" - Iranian merchants on Friday had reason beyond the Persian New Year's holiday to shout out cheerful greetings to friends and customers.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Did Tehran Really Rebuff Obama?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
Some western reports have characterized Ayatollah Khamenei's response to President Obama's Norooz message as a rebuff, but a closer reading suggest otherwise.
|
|
Thank President Obama for his wonderful Norooz message and ask him to protect the Persian tablets
Friday, March 20, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
President Barack Obama's historic Norooz message recognized the greatness of Iranian civilization, the contributions of Iranian Americans to America, and that threats cannot resolve the differences between Iran and the US. The President also declared that he wishes to end the last thirty years of enmity and move towards constructive US-Iran ties.
|
|
Five minutes to Midnight? Congress Debates Iran Divestment
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
By: Emily Blout - News
Congress began deliberations on the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009 in the first hearing held by the House Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.
|
|
NIAC President Trita Parsi Testifies Before House Financial Services Subcommittee
Thursday, March 12, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Dr. Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council, testified this morning before the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Iraqi Provincial Elections - What Tehran Has Lost
Thursday, March 5, 2009
By: Babak Rahimi - Analysis
The Iraqi provincial elections have been largely interpreted as a serious blow to Iran. While it signals a major defeat for Iran's hardliners, it is actually a significant strategic victory for its pragmatists.
|
|
NIAC Condemns Incarceration of Iranian-American Journalist
Monday, March 2, 2009
By: NIAC Statement
Washington, DC - The National Iranian American Council strongly condemns the recent arrest and incarceration of Iranian American Roxana Saberi and Iran's continuing pattern of human rights violations and targeting of the Iranian-American community. The Iranian-American community is deeply saddened and troubled by this event.
|
|
Don't Punish American Workers
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Today, the Washington Times published a Letter to the Editor co-written by NIAC's Patrick Disney and Bill Reinsch of the National Foreign Trade Council.
|
|
NIAC Memo: On Iran, Begin with the End in Mind
Sunday, February 22, 2009
By: Dr. Trita Parsi and Stanley Weiss - Analysis
Only 15 minutes into his term as president, Barack Obama did what his predecessor had refused to do for eight years. He reached out to Iran. His outreach was stronger and swifter than many had expected. It was a wise move, but there should be little surprise that Tehran has yet to fully respond. It won't.
|
|
House Resolution Sheds Light on Iran's Violation of Baha'is Religious Freedom
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
By: Sahar Jooshani - News
Last Friday, Representative Mark S. Kirk introduced H. Res. 175, "condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights."
|
|
On US and Iran, is there an end game?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
By: Sahar Jooshani - News
"For US-Iran talks to succeed, the end destination of the journey needs to be defined ahead of time," said Dr. Trita Parsi, President of National Iranian American Council.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Can Khatami Make a Comeback?
Sunday, February 8, 2009
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
Iran's former President, the soft-spoken Mohammad Khatami, ended months of speculations and revealed his bid to challenge the current Iranian President - the not-so-soft-spoken Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - in the upcoming Presidential elections in June.
|
|
NIAC Memo: What Mutual Respect Means to Iran
Thursday, February 5, 2009
By: Prof. R.K. Ramazani - Opinion
In her first remarks to reporters on Jan. 27, new Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated President Barack Obama's determination to explore ways to engage Iran.
|
|
Women's right defender imprisoned in Iran
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
By: NIAC Staff - News
Last Thursday, Alieh Eghdam Doost, who was arrested for demonstrating in the June 12, 2006 Hafte Tir Square protest against discriminatory laws, was taken under guard from her home in Fouman City, Iran to the Revolutionary Courts Office of Implementation of Sentences to serve a mandatory 3 year prison sentence. This will be the first sentence implemented in the case of a women's rights activist in Iran.
|
|
NIAC welcomes appointment of Iranian American Vali Nasr to Obama Administration
Thursday, January 29, 2009
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council welcomes Iranian-American Professor Vali Nasr's appointment as senior advisor to special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, which he has confirmed to Foreign Policy magazine, and we congratulate Dr. Nasr on his upcoming role in the Obama administration.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Israel, Gaza and Iran: Trapping Obama in Imagined Fault Lines
Thursday, January 15, 2009
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
In talking about the assault on Gaza, neo-conservative pundits and Israeli hardliners have relied on a familiar frame. The fighting in Gaza, they say, is a struggle between Israel and so-called "moderate" Arab states (namely, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia) on the one hand, and Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas on the other. In reality, Israel is fighting Iran in Gaza, the argument reads. These imagined Manichean fault lines defy logic and reality.
|
|
Tehran condemned over stoning executions
Thursday, January 15, 2009
By: Natasha Assadi - News
Iran's judiciary confirmed on Tuesday that two men convicted of adultery were stoned to death at a cemetery in Mashhad, Iran in December. A third man was spared after he was able to dig himself out of the stoning hole.
|
|
International organizations condemn Ebadi persecution
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
By: Aisan Raisdana - News
The headquarters of Shirin Ebadi's Center for the Defense of Human Rights was shut down on December 21 by Iranian authorities just hours prior to a commemoration ceremony for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
|
|
Iran Raids Human Rights Center
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
By: Hormoz Rashidi - News
Iranian authorities raided the office of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and her Center for Defenders of Human Rights yesterday, seizing computers and confidential information about clients.
|
|
Iranian-American Doctor Opens Free Clinic in Salt Lake City
Thursday, December 18, 2008
By: Hormoz Rashidi - News
Iranian immigrant Dr. Mansoor Emam moved to the United States as a teenager with a dream to study medicine and give back to the country that had given him so much. His dream finally came true when he opened his first free clinic, the Maliheh Free Clinic in Salt Lake City, named after his deceased grandmother, Maliheh Abdollahi.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Why Diplomacy and Sanctions Don't Always Mix
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
The debate in Washington is no longer whether to negotiate with Iran, but how, when and in what sequence such negotiations should take place. This, however, does not mean that talks will occur or that they will succeed. This is partly due to an unchang-ing feature of the political land-scape in Washington--the reliance on economic sanctions to look tough and to gain leverage.
|
|
NIAC Memo: The Battle for Iran
Sunday, November 30, 2008
By: Dr. John Tirman - Analysis
The battle for Iran is on - for Iran policy, that is - and a ferocious contest is in store. The combatants are former policy makers, scholars, and think tanks. They are issuing position papers and holding press conferences. On the front line of the contest are those with carrots and those with sticks, the ages-old choice in foreign affairs. Fortunately, history and circumstances provide a clear preference.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Iran's About Face on the Status of Forces Agreement
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
By: Dr. Babak Rahimi - Analysis
The recent approval of the security pact by the Iraqi Cabinet, which would require Washington to withdraw its forces by the end of 2011, marks a new development in U.S.-Iran relations.
|
|
Lawmakers, Experts agree on diplomacy with Iran
Thursday, November 20, 2008
By: Michelle Moghtader - News
The current US debate on Iran is not between those arguing for a pre-emptive military strike and those who do not. Rather, the debate is between those advocating talking first and bombing next, and those who believe no talks are needed before the bombing takes place.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Why US-Iran Talks Are Good for Israel
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
By: Prof. Mark Katz - Analysis
The recent Russian intervention in Georgia has made an American rapprochement with Iran highly desirable for the United States. Israel has long opposed such a rapprochement, but this would also serve its interests too. Here's why.
|
|
NIAC calls on Iranian authorities to honor the human rights of Esha Momeni
Friday, October 31, 2008
By: NIAC Press Release
Esha Momeni, a graduate student at the School of Communications, Media and Arts at California State University, Northridge was arrested in Tehran on October 15, 2008 and detained in section 209 of Iran's Evin Prison - an area under the control of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence.
|
|
NIAC Memo: How to stop an Iranian bomb
Friday, October 31, 2008
By: Dr. Trita Parsi and Andreas Persbo - Opinion
Ever since Iran publicized its nuclear fuel cycle plans in 2003, western experts have tried to downplay its rate of progress in nuclear engineering.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Who Can Unseat Ahmadinejad?
Saturday, October 25, 2008
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
This election is different. Ahmadinejad will run and he will be the man to beat. At the same time, the extent to which Ahmadinejad's mismanagement of the economy and his office has become part of the Iranian political discourse is unprecedented.
|
|
Iranian-American student arrested in Iran, groups call for release
Friday, October 24, 2008
By: Patrick Disney - News
A graduate student from California State University-Northridge has been imprisoned in Iran for more than a week, with calls for her release going unheeded by Iranian authorities, according to rights groups and media reports.
|
|
UN issues report on Human Rights in Iran, expresses concern over violations
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
By: Patrick Disney - News
Iran has taken a number of positive steps toward improved economic, social, and political rights, but widespread human rights violations continue and Iranian officials must do more to meet international standards, according to a recent United Nations report.
|
|
Iran Backtracks on Vow to Cease Juvenile Executions
Sunday, October 19, 2008
By: Rebecca Schiel - News
Iran's state media outlet announced Wednesday that the practice of executing juveniles will be ended. Additionally, juveniles who had been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution would have their sentences commuted to life with the possibility of parole. The Iranian judiciary later backtracked and said that only executions for drug offenses will be ended.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Finding Options on Iran
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
On the eve of his departure from political life, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Olmert delivered a stinging parting shot - putting under question not only the wisdom of holding on to Palestinian land, but also the feasibility of an Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
|
|
Last-Minute Iran Sanctions Pass House
Sunday, September 28, 2008
By: Patrick Disney - News
In a last-minute legislative maneuver, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) introduced H.R. 7112, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2008 on Thursday and ushered its passage through the House late Friday evening.
|
|
NIAC MEMO: IAEA Declares a Gridlock with Iran
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
With the exception of one potentially important nugget about the possibility of Iran drawing on "foreign expertise" in conducting experiments on a detonator suitable for an implosion-type nuclear weapon, the latest IAEA report offers little that is different from its previous report.
|
|
The UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights Condemns Juvenile Executions in Iran
Thursday, September 4, 2008
By: Rebecca Schiel - News
The Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights at the UN spoke out on the juvenile executions in Iran in a statement this week saying "These executions appear to be in clear violation of international law which contains an absolute prohibition of the death penalty for juvenile offenders."
|
|
Iranian Women's Rights Advocates Score Stunning Victory
Thursday, September 4, 2008
By: Rebecca Schiel - News
After experiencing severe criticism and opposition from women's rights advocates, the "Family Protection Bill" was sent indefinitely back to the Judiciary Commission of the Iranian Parliament. It looks as though in this battle, Iran's women's rights activists have been triumphant.
|
|
NIAC Statement on Human Rights in Iran
Thursday, August 28, 2008
By: NIAC Statement
The National Iranian American Council 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.
|
|
NIAC position on Human Rights in Iran
Thursday, August 28, 2008
By: NIAC Statement
NIAC has issued a position statement on the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran. 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.
|
|
Amnesty International Condemns Iran for Youth Execution
Thursday, August 21, 2008
By: Hormoz Rashidi - News
Amnesty International condemned Iran for the July 19 hanging of Reza Hejazi and called on Tehran to halt all executions of juvenile offenders in accordance with International Law. Hejazi was executed in Isfahan central prison for his involvement in a murder when he was 15 years old.
|
|
Amnesty International condemns human violations against Kurds in Iran
Friday, August 1, 2008
By: Farid Zareie - News
Amnesty International recently published a 57-page report condemning the cultural discrimination and human rights abuses that the estimated 12 million ethnic Kurds living in Iran face. The report cites dozens of cases where alleged Kurdish criminals were subjected to flawed trials, inadequate defense, and excessive penalties including numerous cases where the defendants were sentenced to death.
|
|
The Risk of a US-Iran Proxy War
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
By: Julia Murray - News
NIAC held a briefing yesterday on Capitol Hill to shed light on the risk of a possible proxy war between the USA and Iran through various sectarian and political groups in Iran and Iraq, including the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The event featured Col. Sam Gardiner (Ret.), an expert on strategy and military organizations.
|
|
Libertarian Presidential Candidate Stresses Engagement With Iran, Diplomatic Talks "Long Overdue"
Monday, July 28, 2008
By: Arsalan Barmand - News
In a statement released Thursday morning, the Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr urged the Bush Administration to begin talks with Iran. "The U.S. should move forward and initiate direct discussions with Tehran. As famed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill told us, 'it is always better to jaw-jaw than to war-war," he said.
|
|
Mass Executions at Evin Prison in Iran
Monday, July 28, 2008
By: Arash Hadjialiloo - News
According to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, 29 executions by hanging occurred on Sunday morning at Evin Prison in Tehran. An article from the BBC reports the prisoners had been charged with a wide array of crimes including murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking.
|
|
NIAC Memo: IRGC Reshuffling Aimed at Boosting Political Role
Sunday, July 27, 2008
By: Prof. Babak Rahimi - Analysis
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the independent elite military force, has recently undergone a major transformation in its command authority with the apparent aim of boosting its political role in Iran. The new leadership assigned by the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, includes key appointments to the newly formed thirty-one command units of the Revolutionary Guard.
|
|
Iran Human Rights Violations Continue New Cases of Stoning and Arrests
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
By: Arash Hadjialiloo - News
New developments in Iran's foreign policy have yet again allowed its human rights violations to go widely unreported. As of July 15, the BBC had reported Iran plans to stone "at least" eight women and one man for various sex crimes, ranging from adultery to incest and prostitution. The lawyers representing the women have warned that all nine people could be executed at any moment despite a 2002 moratorium on stoning ordered by Iranian judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi. It is believed that at least three people have been executed by stoning in Iran since the supposed suspension.
|
|
Will Iran Freeze?
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
Upon his return to Iran from Geneva Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, was quite clear in only one respect. Responding to a question from the Iranian press, he stated that in Geneva there was no discussion of Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment. Jalili is right. The Geneva talks were not supposed to be about suspension.
|
|
Iranian Civil Society Urges US to End "Democracy Fund," Ease Sanctions
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
By: Patrick Disney - News
A group of Iranian scientists, humanitarians, and social service workers has sent a letter to President Bush and members of Congress urging them to abolish the controversial "Iran Democracy Fund" and to ease US sanctions on Iran. According to the group, this will allow greater collaboration through people-to-people exchange and strengthen the cultural and educational ties between our two countries
|
|
World Archaeological Congress: No War with Iran
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
By: Julia Murray - News
Last week the World Archaeological Congress (WAC) issued a resolution that discouraged the use of American force in Iran. The resolution also urged the archaeological community to resist US military requests to hand over a list of historical Iranian sites that should be avoided in the case of air strikes. What is unclear, however, is whether this pronouncement is in anticipation of requests for such information about Iran or if archaeologists have been approached by the US government already.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Sen. McCain's Appointment of Iranian-American Liaison
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC welcomes the McCain campaign's appointment of a special coordinator for Iranian American outreach. McCain's is the first presidential campaign in history to create a specific position for the purpose of reaching out to the Iranian-American community.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Reading Solana in Tehran
Monday, July 7, 2008
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
Conciliatory noises from Tehran over the nuclear issue have left Washington and Brussels baffled, and unconvinced of Iran's intentions. Having grown accustomed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's uncompromising language, Tehran's new tone has raised more suspicion than hope among cynics in Western capitals.
|
|
Washington Times Op-Ed -- HConRes 362: Blockading Iran to war
Sunday, July 6, 2008
By: Prof. Cyrus Bina and Col. Sam Gardiner - Opinion
Markets have been watching every move of President Bush and the Israeli government to decipher whether war with Iran is in the making. Few expected, however, that the equivalent of a green light for war would come from our Democratic-controlled Congress. That is what Congress is preparing to do through a resolution calling for a de facto naval blockade in the Persian Gulf to prohibit Iran from importing refined petroleum products.
|
|
The Alternative to an Israeli Attack on Iran
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
By: Shlomo Ben-Ame and Trita Parsi - Opinion
In an op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor on July 2, 2008, former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and NIAC President Trita Parsi argue that there is no military solution to the Iranian nuclear stand-off and that the tendency to view consequences of war with great optimism and challenges of diplomacy with great skepticism must be corrected.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Beneath Bravado, Iran Prepares for US Attack
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
A recent interview with the commander of the Islamic Revolution's Guard Corps (IRGC) reveals important details regarding the current state of thinking in Tehran about Iran's preparation for an attack and its assessment of US and Israeli capabilities
|
|
Transcript of "Breaking the Stalemate" Conference on Capitol Hill available for download
Monday, June 30, 2008
By: NIAC Press Release
Full transcripts of NIAC's Capitol Hill conference "Breaking the US-Iran Stalemate: Finding the Nuclear Fix in the Wake of the Majlis elections" with Senator Dianne Feinstein, Ambassador Tom Pickering and Dr. Hans Blix is now available for download.
|
|
NIAC memo: Why Tehran Will Reject the New Incentive Package
Thursday, June 19, 2008
By: Dr. Babak Rahimi - Analysis
Iran's likely rejection of the new incentive package to halt the country's nuclear enrichment program has opened a new chapter in Tehran's successive transgression of nuclear demarcations.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Who Is Making Tehran's Iraq Policy?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
One of the most curious aspects of reporting on Iran is the never-ending search for finding the one person that "really" makes policy.
|
|
NIAC Memo: The Implications of Ali Larijani's Election
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
By: Dr. Babak Rahimi - Analysis
The election of Ali Larijani as the new speaker of Iran's parliament marks a major development within the faction-ridden politics of the Islamic Republic.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Larijani's Election Can Boost Congressional Diplomacy
Thursday, June 5, 2008
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
Iranian Nobel prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has long argued that the United States and Iran need to have a dialogue with each other at three different levels: between their executive branches, between their civil societies and between their legislatures.
|
|
Iran Sentences Juvenile Offender to Death, Defies International Treaties
Thursday, June 5, 2008
By: Caroline Tarpey - News
Iranian citizen Mohammad Feda'i faces execution for a murder he committed in reported self-defense when he was 17 years old. According to an alert by Amnesty International, Feda'i was "convicted after an unfair trial" in which his testimony was inadequately reviewed and for which he did not have full and fair legal representation. "As a state party to both the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Iran has undertaken not to execute juvenile offenders: those convicted of crimes committed when they were under the age of 18," Amnesty International reports. The judges' written verdict acknowledged that Feda'i committed murder in self-defense and did not have "adequate" representation. Yet, the judges handed down a death sentence in the same document.
|
|
Iranian NGOs to U.S.: "Don't Send us Money."
Monday, June 2, 2008
By: Arash Hadjialiloo - News
Massachusetts Representative Bill Delahunt ended the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight hearing by echoing words he heard from Iranian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in response to increased American pro-democracy funding: "We hear from Iran, for example, 'don't send us money, it stigmatizes us.'"
|
|
Human Rights Situation in Iran Continues to Deteriorate, Groups Report
Thursday, May 22, 2008
By: Patrick Disney - News
Iran continues to rank second in the world for executions, according to Amnesty International, with 317 people put to death last year. That figure nearly doubled the number of prisoners executed in Iran the previous year. Only China performed more executions in 2007.
|
|
Avner: For Israel, Military Option Still on the Table
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
By: Arash Hadjialiloo - News
On Tuesday, May 21 NIAC held its monthly congressional briefing which covered the interlacing relationship between the United States, Israel, and Iran. The briefing included an opening statement by Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman John Conyers (MI-D), during which he emphasized the importance of avoiding a third war with a Muslim State, adding that another war would have constitutional implications.
|
|
NIAC Memo: How (not) to Win the Hearts and Minds of Iranians
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
By: Prof. Babak Rahimi - Analysis
One of the oddest consequences of U.S. sanctions toward Iran is how it has compelled ordinary Iranians, particularly pro-democracy elements, to help strengthen the Islamic Republic's claim to rule.
|
|
Trita Parsi Wins 2008 Council on Foreign Relations' Silver Medal Arthur Ross Book Award
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC President Trita Parsi has received the 2008 silver medal from the Council on Foreign Relations' (CFR's) Arthur Ross Book Award for his work, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States (Yale University Press). The prize is the "the most significant award for a book on international affairs." Endowed by the late Arthur Ross in 2001, the award honors nonfiction works that help change our understanding of important events, critical issues, and/or foreign policy problems.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Can P5+1 Offer Break the Nuclear Stalemate?
Saturday, May 10, 2008
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
The P5+1 -- the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany -- will present Tehran with a secret incentive package in the next few days to convince Iran to suspend its enrichment program and enter negotiations.
|
|
Parsi: Clinton's "obliterate Iran" statement irresponsible
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
By: NIAC Statement
Senator Hillary Clinton's refusal to express regret for her irresponsible "obliterate Iran" statement is deplorable and reflective of a foreign policy outlook that perpetuates rather than resolves conflicts.
|
|
Shirin Ebadi answers questions
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
By: NIAC Staff - News
For many Iranian Americans, Shirin Ebadi is a household name. As an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist--and the first Iranian Nobel Peace Prize recipient (2003)--her efforts are a point of pride for the Iranian-American community, many of whom hope to follow her lead.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Creation of First Iranian-American Lobby
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
By: NIAC Press Release
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is pleased to welcome the launch of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), the first Iranian-American lobbying organization in Washington DC. Iranian-American political voices can only mature with the advent of more organizations focusing on the community's concerns. Like NIAC, PAAIA aims "to build an influential voice for the Iranian-American community in the US political process.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Helping the Mullahs, Hurting the Poor
Monday, April 28, 2008
By: Babak Rahimi - Analysis
U.S. and European sanctions are not only failing to achieve their stated aims, they are also strengthening an Iranian government that has become more despotic since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
|
|
Video of NIAC's Senate Conference Panel I
Thursday, April 24, 2008
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC's Senate conference "Breaking the US-Iran Stalemate" is now available on youtube. Below are the clips from Panel I: New Majles, New Challenges?
|
|
Video of NIAC's Senate Conference "Breaking the US-Iran Stalemate"
Thursday, April 24, 2008
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC's Senate conference "Breaking the US-Iran Stalemate" with Senator Dianne Feinstein, Ambassador Tom Pickering and Dr. Hans Blix is now available on youtube.
|
|
Video of NIAC's Senate Conference Panel II
Thursday, April 24, 2008
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC's Senate conference "Breaking the US-Iran Stalemate" is now available on youtube. Below are the clips from Panel II: Beyond Zero Enrichment - Finding the Nuclear Fix.
|
|
NIAC Conference: Feinstein urges "robust diplomacy" with Iran without preconditions
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
By: Shadee Malaklou - News
Panelists yesterday urged against US-backed sanctions on Iran, and instead encouraged direct talks--without preconditions--between the US and Iran as a way to curtail Iran's nuclear program. "I believe we should begin to pursue a robust, diplomatic initiative with Iran on all issues and without preconditions," Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said in her keynote address.
|
|
NIAC Conference: Majles elections won't make nuclear compromise easier
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
By: Arash Hadjialiloo - News
You can't take the parliamentary elections in Iran at face value, it seems. Panelists at the National Iranian American Council's April 8 conference agreed that Iran's March 14 parliamentary (Majles) elections were rife with shady dealings andglad-handing. "Elections [in Iran] are not free or fair, but always interesting," Barbara Slavin, a Fellow at the US Institute of Peace and Senior Diplomatic Reporter for USA Today, said.
|
|
NIAC Conference: Blix, Pickering propose nuclear compromise
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
By: Ali Scotten - News
"The United States and the West have painted themselves into a corner," Hans Blix, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Wednesday. Blix was referring to the Bush administration's insistence that Iran suspend enrichment of uranium before talks can proceed. Iran has refused to do so, claiming that it is unacceptable to be expected to concede the main object under negotiation before talks even begin.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Will Iran's New Majles Pose a Challenge to Ahmadinejad?
Monday, March 17, 2008
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
Iran's parliamentary (Majles) elections finally took place on Friday March 14. Despite a conservative win, chances are that the new Majles will provide a tougher political landscape for Ahmadinejad on economic grounds but not on nuclear and foreign policy issues.
|
|
International support for sanctions, military action against Iran declines
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
By: Shadee Malaklou - News
Support for tough measures against Iran's nuclear program has declined sharply in the United States, according to a BBC World Service Poll released March 11. In the wake of Admiral William Fallon's resignation from the US Central Command, the poll is a reassuring reminder that Americans still do not favor a US military strike on Iran.
|
|
NIAC Memo: IAEA'S Latest Iran Report: Time to Move on
Friday, February 29, 2008
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
The latest IAEA safeguards report on Iran's nuclear activities is an important report that brings an end to almost all the technical issues that in the past five years have concerned the IAEA regarding Iran's declared civilian nuclear program.
|
|
Human Rights and Islam in Iran
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
By: Daniel Robinson - News
At a February 15 briefing at the Women's Foreign Policy Group, Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina, argued that the U.S. must pursue dialogue with Iran, and that dialogue must start with the human rights question. We cannot remain indifferent to any culture or community that fails to respect human rights for any person," he said.
|
|
Questions Remain about Iran Democracy Fund
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
By: Emily Blout - News
In a controversial move last month, Congress appropriated $60 million for a package of State Department programs designed to "promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Iran," in part, by funding the activities of Iranian dissident groups.
|
|
NIAC Memo: How to Prevent War at the Strait of Hormuz?
Thursday, January 17, 2008
By: Prof. R. K. R.K. Ramazani - Analysis
The recent naval encounter between the US and Iran extended their cold war for the first time to the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Such incidents could escalate into armed conflict, with catastrophic consequences for the world economy, especially the price of oil.
|
|
Iranian Americans and the Senate: A Chamber in the Balance
Monday, January 14, 2008
By: Babak Talebi
A NIAC Series: Reflections on Iranian-American Political Influence
America's political future will depend heavily on the Senate elections in 2008 because a surprisingly large number of the upper chamber's 35 races are considered competitive. Each election cycle, a third of US Senators face re-election, and just like the House races described earlier, rarely are incumbent Senators defeated. This year, for the first time in a few decades, as many as a dozen seats may change hands and in a few of these states, Iranian Americans can play a major if not decisive role.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Will Naval Incident Undermine Bush's Iran Message?
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
t is by now almost routine. With recurring frequency, U.S. leaders tour the Middle East depicting Iran as the region's greatest threat. As such, President George W. Bush's visit to the Middle East this week has historic precedent.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Iran's "Unduly Provocative" Act against the US Navy?
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
Unduly provocative" was the term used by Vice Admiral Kevin J. Cosgriff, who commands U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, to characterize the incident that just took place between the Islamic Revolution's Guard Corps and the US Navy
|
|
Iranian-American Influence on the Presidential Primaries
Thursday, January 3, 2008
By: Babak Talebi
A NIAC Series: Reflections on Iranian-American Political Influence
Iranian Americans have a tremendous opportunity to impact the outcome of the 2008 Presidential elections. The key to wielding influence far greater than ones actual numbers is to vote in the primaries, particularly on 'Super Duper Tuesday,' February 5. With the support of PARSA Community Foundation, NIAC will be publishing a series of columns expounding on how the electoral process functions, how individuals can impact the process, and how the Iranian-American community as a whole make its mark on the 2008 elections.
|
|
NIAC memo: Breaking Israel's Strategic Paralysis on Iran
Monday, December 31, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
Israel is in state of strategic paralysis. Its longstanding policy on Iran - depict Tehran as a global threat, pressure Washington to prevent Iran from going nuclear, and evade an American-Iranian dialogue - has been dealt a severe blow by the recently released National Intelligence Estimate.
|
|
NIAC Memo: US - Iran Dialogue Key to Regional Stability?
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
One day after he identified Iran as a grave threat to regional security even without nuclear weapons, Defense Secretary Robert Gates received a friendly advice from one of Washington's key allies in the region.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Iran in the Shadow of Annapolis
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
In light of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran released last week, the Bush administration's choice to exclude Iran from the Annapolis meeting in late November looks all the more foolhardy.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Is the Iran NIE a Blessing in Disguise for Israel?
Friday, December 7, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
The U.S. National Intelligence Estimate's assertion that Iran currently does not have a nuclear weapons program has caused much frustration in Israel.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Can the NIE Evade the Risk for War?
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
The conclusions of the 2007 NIE should undermine any legitimacy the idea of military action has had in the United States and be seen as part and parcel of the debate that has been going on the in the United States between promoters of coercive diplomacy and military action
|
|
Parsi: Policy should be adjusted to NIE Reality Check
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
With no weapon program, justification for suspension precondition eliminated
Contact: Trevor FitzGibbon
Fenton Communications
202 246 5303
The President's comments today further fueled the perception that the White House pursues policies detached from reality. In spite of the National Intelligence Estimate stating that Iran has ended its weapons program, the president insisted that the military option remains on the table. Rather than adjusting policy on Iran in accordance to the reality-check provided by the NIE, the President moved the goal post on Iran. As the NIE declared that Iran likely doesn't have a weapons program, the President shifted the red line from weaponization to the mere knowledge of enriching uranium - an activity that in and of itself is not of a military nature and is permitted by the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
|
|
NIAC Memo: An Inconvenient Reality: Sunnis Remain Source of Most Foreign Fighters in Iraq
Friday, November 30, 2007
By: Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
The Bush Administration continues to ignore the realities of the Iraq insurgency's makeup in its bid to pressure Iran
|
|
IAEA-Iran Cooperation Accentuates Political Nature of Dispute
Sunday, November 25, 2007
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi
Washington DC - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) November 2007 report on Iran was much anticipated because of the agreement on a work plan regarding a time frame for the resolution of "outstanding issues" that had remained regarding Iran's past activities. Based on this agreement Iran was expected to cooperate and divulge information that would allow the IAEA to assess whether Iran has come clean on its past activities. This process is still ongoing with IAEA director El Baradei on record as saying that Iran's agreement with the agency "is proceeding according to schedule."
|
|
NIAC Memo: U.S. Sanctions on Iran: Will They Work?
Friday, November 23, 2007
By: Prof. R.K. Ramazani - Analysis
The Bush administration's latest unilateral sanctions on Iran are likely to fail. The debate over whether or not these sanctions will work has so far focused on economic considerations. Psychological and political factors, however, are more important.
|
|
Kar: The Mother of Democracy is Freedom of Expression
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
By: Sam Fayyaz
South Hadley, Massachusetts Prominent attorney, author, and human rights activist Mehrangiz Kar urged a predominantly student audience at Mount Holyoke College to "work on promoting discussion on human rights in Iran" earlier this October. Kar's lecture "'With Determined Spirits: Activism and Contemporary Women's Rights in Iran," was the inaugural event in Holyoke College's special lecture series "Bearing Witness" sponsored by the Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal Arts.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Seven Myths about Iran
Thursday, November 15, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
The ill-informed foreign policy debate on Iran contributes to a paradigm of enmity between the United States and Iran, which limits the foreign policy options of future US administrations to various forms of confrontation while excluding more constructive approaches.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Factionalism and Iran's Ruling Elite: Reality or Illusion?
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
It behooves U.S. policy makers to take note of factional struggles in Tehran when developing effective policies that protect U.S. interests and advance U.S. goals, particularly when seeking to alter Tehran's behavior.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Assessing the Iran-IAEA Nuclear Workplan
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
By: Dr. Bahram Rajee - Analysis
With the unexpected resignation of chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani from his post this week, Iranian factional politics once again threaten to obstruct recent progress made in Iran's negotiations with the IAEA.
|
|
WSJ Op-ed Attacks Iranian Americans for Backing Iran's Leading Democracy Activists
Friday, October 19, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
For Immediate release
Contact: Trevor Fitzgibbon
Fenton Communications
202 246 5303
Washington DC The debate on the controversial Iran "democracy promotion" program reached new heights on Monday. A Wall Street Journal op-ed attacked Iranian Americans echoing the calls of Iranian activists to reprogram the State department funding. The funding has played into the hands of the Iranian government and divided Iranian activists, opponents point out.
|
|
NIAC Memo: A Sober Analysis of Iran
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
Despite a fixation on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hardline statements, Iran's rhetoric has only translated into actual policy when Tehran deemed that its ideological and strategic imperatives coincided
|
|
Groups Urge Congress to Stop Funding Failed Iran "Democracy" Program
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
By: Emily Blout
For Immediate release
Contact: Trevor Fitzgibbon
Fenton Communications
202 246 5303
Washington DC - Twenty-six organizations issued a joint letter today calling on Congress to eliminate or reprogram the $75 million proposed for the State Department "Iran democracy promotion" programs. The groups, citing overwhelming opposition to the program by activists inside Iran, urge Congress to reconsider the program due to the harm it has done to the very values and people the US funding aims to assist.
|
|
NIAC expands Board in Seattle
Thursday, October 4, 2007
By: Ehsan Sanaie
Seattle, WA - The National Iranian American Council is proud to introduce two new members to its Board of Directors: Reza Firouzbakht and Sean Jazayeri. Both members of Seattle's business community, Firouzbakht and Jazayeri will serve two year terms on NIAC's Board of Directors. Both new board members are committed to getting Iranian Americans involved in the American political process and building NIAC's membership both locally and nationally.
|
|
NIAC op-ed in the Hill: Fund bridges, not failed policy
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi and Emily Blout
Washington DC - Congress is adept at throwing money at a problem. Far better to continue doling out cash on a project than to admit it's not working. Or is it? After all, bridges are falling. We are facing major challenges in Iraq. Millions are without health insurance. In a time when the budget is increasingly stretched, Congress should reassess its spending -- particularly on programs that have done more damage than good. The Iran democracy fund is a prime example of such a program.
|
|
PARSA Film Honors Persian Philanthropy
Monday, September 10, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
PARSA Community Foundation, one of NIAC's institutional funders, has produced a short film on the history of Persian philanthropy from the Achaemenid era to the present day diaspora in the United States. The film showcases both the roots of Persian philanthropy in ancient Iran and the activities of modern day Iranian philanthropists living abroad.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Release of Iranian Americans
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Contact: Trevor FitzGibbon
Fenton Communications
202-246-5303
Concern for other prisoners remains
Washington DC - The National Iranian American Council welcomes the release and impending repatriation of three Iranian Americans detained in Iran for the past several months. Just one day after Haleh Esfandiari's departure from Iran, authorities have returned the passport of Parnaz Azima and have announced the release of Kian Tajbakhsh on bail. NIAC remains cautiously hopeful that a fourth Iranian American, Ali Shakeri, will soon be released as well.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Bush Indictment of Iran Tops Usual Rhetoric
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
The George W. Bush administration has seemingly taken advantage of the Congressional recess to escalate tensions with Iran.
|
|
NIAC Publishes Transcripts and Video of Human Rights Conference on Capitol Hill
Thursday, August 23, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Washington DC - The transcripts and video of the National Iranian American Council's conference on Human Rights in Iran on July 26, 2007 on Capitol Hill are now available online. The conference, titled "Human Rights in Iran and US foreign policy op" featured numerous high-power speakers, including Alex Arriaga (Amnesty International), Joe Stork (Human Rights Watch), John Tirman (MIT), Laura Secor (The New Yorker) as well as Congressmen Jim Moran (D-VA), Mike Honda (D-CA) and Tom Tancredo (R-CO).
|
|
NIAC Memo: Terror Label for Guard Corp Entrenches US-Iran Enmity
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
The White House's decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization could deal a double blow to efforts to utilize diplomacy with Iran to stabilize Iraq.
|
|
NIAC Memo: A New Cold War with Iran?
Monday, August 13, 2007
By: Dr. John Tirman - Analysis
We often hear that the US-Iran confrontation is a new Cold War, but the standoff is not like the US-Soviet conflict and it could be dangerous to think that it is
|
|
Iran Human Rights Violations, US Policy Criticized at NIAC Conference
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Washington DC - "I am incensed by what has happened to Haleh Esfandiari," said Congressmen James Moran (D-VA) addressing a packed room on Capitol Hill last Thursday. Moran, an outspoken critic of human rights violators, was just one of the many distinguished panelists who spoke at NIAC's second major Capitol Hill policy conference of the year. The arrest of Dr. Esfandiari and other Iranian Americans, the Virginia lawmaker continued, was an indication of the "utter lack of courage and conscience on the part of the current Iranian leadership. It's inexcusable and it shows how isolated Tehran has become."
|
|
No more Iranian American "honor killing" in major Hollywood picture
Sunday, July 29, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Changes to 'Crossing Over' "a mutual victory"
Los Angeles/Washington DC - Ongoing conversations between NIAC and the director and actors in the upcoming film, 'Crossing Over,' reached a positive conclusion last week. According to the film's director, all elements of an honor killing in the script have been eliminated. Written in the tradition of 'Crash,' the film follows the struggles of individuals from different immigrant communities as they strive to 'cross over' from illegal residency to documented citizenship. Harrison Ford is playing the lead role of Max Brogan, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Success in U.S.-Iran Security Talks Requires Balanced View
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
he United States and Iran met yesterday in Baghdad to discuss the security situation in Iraq, building on a groundbreaking initial meeting in May. This time, despite a more tense dialogue, a tangible gain has emerged.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes Second Round of US-Iran Talks
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Contact: Trevor FitzGibbon, Alex Howe
Fenton Communications
202-246-5303, 202-822-5200
Unrealistic Expectations Renders Diplomacy More Challenging
Washington DC - NIAC welcomes the second round of US-Iran talks on the security situation in Iraq and calls for an expansion of the discussions to include issues of contention between the two countries. The talks should take place sooner rather than later in order to prevent the security situation in Iraq from deteriorating further.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Iran's Security Outlook
Friday, July 13, 2007
By: Dr. Farideh Farhi - Analysis
Widespread apprehension attended the June 2005 election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran, at least among those Iranians who had approved of the country's direction under the reformist clerics led by President Mohammad Khatami.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Iraq - One-Sided Focus on Iran's Role Counterproductive
Thursday, July 12, 2007
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
Too often overlooked in the U.S.-Iran policy debate is the reality that for either the U.S. or Iran to achieve their objectives in Iraq, the other must be relatively successful as well. It is this complexity and interdependence that underscores the danger of painting U.S.-Iran relations in Iraq as a zero-sum game.
|
|
NIAC Makes Progress in Defamation Case with VOA Persian
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
By: NIAC Staff - News
Voice of America's Persian Service has agreed to no longer provide a platform for proponents of US-Iran war who have waged a campaign of defamation against NIAC
|
|
Camp Ayandeh Featured in Washington Post
Friday, July 6, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Washington DC - The campers had played dodge ball, sung along with the guitar, horsed around. Now it was time for a hot-blooded battle of ta'arof, the Persian art of hyper politeness. Ta'arof, which involves both parties insisting they are not worthy of the other, is in constant play in Iranian society -- people refuse to walk through a door first, cabdrivers refuse to accept payment as passengers beg them to, hosts must offer pastries even if guests don't want them, and guests must say they don't want them even if they do. But at Camp Ayandeh, a leadership camp for Iranian American teenagers, ta'arof is one of several games and workshops that address growing up between two often-conflicting cultures.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Might the U.S., Iran Cooperate on Al-Qaida?
Thursday, June 21, 2007
By: Prof. R. K. Ramazani - Analysis
Talks between America and Iran in Baghdad will mark the first official thaw in U.S.-Iranian relations, frozen since 1980. More importantly, the talks could lead to a vital partnership between Washington and Tehran against al-Qaida, the greatest single terrorist threat in the world today.
|
|
Congress Debates Need for Change in Democracy Rhetoric Towards Iran, Middle East
Thursday, June 14, 2007
By: Emily Blout
Washington DC - At a Subcommittee hearing in the House of Representatives yesterday, academics and Congressmen wrangled over the issue of the US human rights double-standard and "democracy promotion" in Iran. The International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight Subcommittee hearing entitled "Is There a Human Rights Double Standard? U.S. Policy Toward Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Uzbekistan" was the second in a series addressing the disparities in US foreign policy.
|
|
NIAC Memo: New War Rhetoric Undercuts Iraq Talks
Monday, June 11, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman's call for cross-border raids into Iran appears to be the culmination of a two-week long campaign by proponents of war to put the military option centre-stage in the U.S. debate over Iran once more.
|
|
NIAC Memo: U.S.-Iran Convergence in Iraq?
Thursday, May 31, 2007
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
U.S. and Iranian officials met this week in face-to-face discussions regarding the security situation in Iraq. The talks were described by the U.S. representative Ryan Crocker as "businesslike," by Iranian representative Hassan Kazemi Qomi as "frank and transparent," and by both parties as "positive."
|
|
Representatives Moran and Van Hollen Call for Release of Esfandiari
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Washington DC - Representatives James Moran (D-VA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) have taken the lead in Congress in calling for the release of prominent Iranian American scholar Dr. Haleh Esfandiari. Dr. Esfandiari was imprisoned by Iranian authorities on May 8 after months of interrogation. She is accused of being a spy and plotting to foment a 'soft' revolution in Iran.
|
|
NIAC Welcomes US-Iran Talks in Baghdad
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
By: NIAC Press Release
NIAC welcomes the historic US-Iran talks held yesterday in Baghdad and calls for an expansion of the discussions. The White House's move towards negotiations is an encouraging step towards a necessary policy shift.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Scholars Bear Brunt of Anti-Diplomacy Backlash
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
With only a few days left until the United States and Iran are expected to hold much anticipated talks, several factors point to the potential for a real diplomatic breakthrough.
|
|
NIAC condemns arrest of Iranian American scholars
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Contact: Trevor FitzGibbon
Fenton Communications
202-246-5303
Iranian hardline factions seek to prevent diplomacy through these egregious acts
Washington DC - The National Iranian American Council condemns the imprisonment of respected social scientist Kian Tajbakhsh by Iranian authorities on May 11 and calls for his immediate release. Tajbakhsh is the fourth individual with dual US-Iranian citizenship to be detained in the last few weeks by the Iranian government.
|
|
Lawmakers Discuss Iran Policy at NIAC Lunch Briefing
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
By: Babak Talebi
Washington DC During a congressional Lunch Briefing sponsored by NIAC and the Congressional Dialogue Caucus, Joe Volk of the Friends Committee on National Legislation gave a presentation of his recent trip to Iran. Volk, who was part of a religious delegation that traveled to Iran in February of 2007, describing his experiences, including his assessments of the diplomatic situation based on talks with several Iranian officials, including the Iranian President.
|
|
NIAC deplores Tehran's arrest of Iranian-Americans
Thursday, May 10, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Contact:
Trevor FitzGibbon
Fenton Communications
202-246-5303
Statement by Dr. Trita Parsi, National Iranian American Council
Washington DC - Tehran's arrest of several Iranian-American visitors to Iran, including most recently a prominent Iranian-American academic, is a deplorable step that has sent chills throughout the Iranian-American community. The inexplicable targeting of Iranian-American individuals is causing great concern in a community that cherishes the ability to visit Iran and maintain close contacts with friends and family there, despite the tense political situation between the two countries.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Can Europe End the Lose-Lose Game with Iran?
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
As the world powers gather in Berlin this week to discuss new punitive measures against Iran's nuclear programme, Europe is faced with a daunting task.
|
|
"The New Great American Director"- Iranian American Ramin Bahrani
Monday, May 7, 2007
By: Michelle Moghtader and Nahid Dashtaki
Washington, DC - Hailed by Roger Ebert as "the new great American director" for his recently released movie Goodbye Solo, NIAC was thrilled to discover that Ramin Bahrani was in fact Iranian American. With internationally acclaimed and award winning movies such as Man Push Cart (2005),and Chop Shop (2007) Mr. Bahrani has delighted audiences with his visionary direction of independent films. Now with the release of Goodbye Solo, NIAC would like to take a closer look at the man who is providing such an impressive and refreshing view to the genre of independent film.
|
|
Tehran's Delay of Talks in Sharm el-Sheikh a Missed Opportunity
Friday, May 4, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Contact:
Trevor FitzGibbon
Fenton Communications
202-246-5303
Washington DC - Tehran missed an opportunity in Sharm el-Sheikh this past weekend to kick-start a high-level dialogue with the United States. Even though expectations may have been exaggerated about what the meeting could achieve, the Iranian foreign minister's failure to engage in direct dialogue on substantive issues with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a setback for the nascent and fragile diplomatic process.
|
|
Library of Congress Hosts Iranian Cultural Event
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
By: Amir Roohi
Washington DC - "It is so great that in this time of increased tension between Iran and the United States we can come together and enjoy such beautiful music," opened Rory Turner at an event featuring Iranian music and literature at the Library of Congress today. Turner, a co-director of Maryland Traditions whose aim it is to preserve homegrown folklore art and music added that he was so grateful to have "this music to enrich our culture."
|
|
NIAC Memo: A Counterproductive Precondition
Thursday, April 12, 2007
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
The Bush Administration's insistence on placing preconditions on engagement with Iran has not only prevented nuclear talks, but also diplomacy regarding Iraq and America's position in the Middle East
|
|
NIAC memo: Supporting Terror to Destabilize Iran Will Backfire
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
By: Bahram Rajaee
New reports indicate the Bush administration is encouraging an ethnic Baluchi, Sunni Muslim "militant group" in Pakistan in a campaign of violence against Iran to destabilize that country. Destabilizing the largest regional power in the Middle East through terror is dangerous: it bolsters Iranian radicals by giving credence to their claims of the U.S. seeks Iran's dismemberment; undermines the U.S. claim that it is opposed to terrorism with tragic irony; and opens the door to an even wider zone of regional conflict and instability. On balance, this and similar efforts will only succeed in making Iran increasingly difficult to deal with. Given that the U.S. is currently in no position to engage in the required military action to implement regime change Iran; hard questions must be asked of current Bush administration policies regarding that country.
|
|
NIAC memo: Supporting Terror to Destabilize Iran Will Backfire
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
New reports indicate the Bush administration is encouraging an ethnic Baluchi, Sunni Muslim "militant group" in Pakistan in a campaign of violence against Iran to destabilize that country.
|
|
Irvine, California Formally Celebrates Persian New Year
Monday, April 2, 2007
By: Nina Pedrad
Washington DC - Today a city in Orange County, California will take down their Persian New Year banners after two weeks of display. Officials of the City of Irvine say it is the first city to celebrate the Persian New Year by hanging banners.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Duel for leverage fuels conflict, not diplomacy
Thursday, March 29, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
As the dispute over Iran's seizure of British sailors continues to twist and turn, what may have been an isolated incident at the outset is quickly developing into yet another move in the geopolitical chess game between the West and Iran.
|
|
NIAC Publishes Transcripts of February Capitol Hill Conference on Iran
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
By: NIAC Staff
Washington DC - Transcripts of National Iranian American Council and the New America Foundation's conference on US-Iran relations on February 14, 2007 on Capitol Hill are now available online. The conference, titled "US-Iran relations: collision, stand-off, or convergence?" featured numerous high-power speakers, including Professor Francis Fukuyama, Congresswoman Jane Harman, Colonel Larry Wilkerson, Colin Powell's Chief of Staff, Flynt Leverett of the New America Foundation, Bruno Pellaud, former deputy chief of safe guards at the IAEA, Daniel Levy, former advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Trita Parsi, President of NIAC.
|
|
Iranian American Leila Vaziri Takes Gold in Melbourne
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
By: Ehsan Tabesh
Washington DC - The National Iranian American Council congratulates Iranian American Leila Vaziri for taking the gold medal in the 50m backstroke after she shattered the world record in a time that equaled her own record set in Wednesday's semi final.
|
|
NIAC Memo: How Not to Foster Democracy in Iran
Sunday, March 25, 2007
By: Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
The path to greater democratization in Iran is dependent primarily on internal Iranian politics.
|
|
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Condemn Detention of Iranian Women
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
By: Sara Shokravi
Washington DC - Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned last Sunday's arrests of 33 women activists in Iran. The arrest followed a peaceful demonstration by the women in their Campaign for Equality which sought to reform discriminatory legislation against women.
|
|
Iran Sanctions Debate Moves to California State Assembly
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
By: Shervin Boloorian
Washington DC - The battle to tighten sanctions on Iran is shifting to the state level with the recent introduction of a measure (AB 221) in the California Legislature that would restrict investment of state retirement funds in companies with ties to Iran. "As a pro-business Republican, my natural instincts are not to limit businesses' investment activities," stated bill author and California Assemblyman Joel Anderson, "But it is outrageous for California taxpayers' money to be invested in companies whose business activities benefit a nation that sponsors terrorists who target American citizens."
|
|
NIAC Interview with Payvand: Iranian-Americans are double stake-holders in peace between US and Iran
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
By: Payvand.com Cowl
Payvand: What currently occupies Iranian-Americans' minds is the worries that their adopted country will go into war with their home country. The overwhelming majority of them are against this war. Yet, there is a high likelihood this unpopular war may actually happen. What are your thoughts on this?
NIAC: I think the vast majority of Iranian Americans in the US are very concerned about the risk for war. In a way, Iranian Americans are double-stakeholders in situation. As Americans, they do not wish to see any of their American friends, neighbors and relatives die in an unnecessary conflict. And as Americans of Iranian descent, they don't want to see their grandmothers bombed in Iran. So Iranian Americans have plenty of incentives to see a peaceful solution to the stand-off.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Will Surge Hurt US More Than Sanctions Hurt Iran?
Sunday, February 25, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
The winds of fortune in the Iranian nuclear stand-off seem to have shifted, judging by the U.S.'s new confidence. But in Washington's apparent quest to get an upper hand, misreading the causes of the backlash against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran may cause the U.S. to lose rather than gain leverage.
|
|
Supporting a Wise Iran Policy: What Congress Can Do
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee
In recent months the Bush administration has significantly increased American pressure on Iran-directly contradicting the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group to engage Tehran diplomatically. While Iran poses numerous challenges to the US, military confrontation with Iran will only exacerbate these problems.
|
|
House Intelligence Leader Calls for Sanctions on Iran
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By: Shervin Boloorian
Washington DC - "I agree that we need to ramp up our diplomatic efforts," said Former top Intelligence Democrat, Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), but insisted that the best strategy with Iran would be to impose stronger economic sanctions. Delivering remarks to a packed audience at the the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and New America Foundation (NAF) Conference on Capitol Hill, Harman agreed that US regime change tendencies should be "revisited" but rejected taking the military option off the table.
|
|
Lantos Call for More Iran Sanctions at Hearing
Thursday, February 1, 2007
By: Claudia Picou
Washington DC - Three distinguished academic scholars warned the House Foreign Relation Committee yesterday that a military confrontation with Iran would strengthen hardliners and set back the cause for democracy.
Dr. Abbas Milani, co-director of the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Ray Takeyh senior fellow for the Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Enders Wimbush, director of the Center for Future Security Strategies and senior fellow for the Hudson Institute, testified before the House Committee Foreign Relations on the subject "Understanding the Iran Crisis."
|
|
NIAC Memo: What if Iran Suspends? A Western Dilemma
Thursday, January 25, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
As the Feb. 21 deadline for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment programme fast approaches, both Iran and the West are scrambling to prepare themselves for all possible moves by the other side.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Bush's Iraq Plan - Goading Iran into War
Thursday, January 11, 2007
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
President George W. Bush's address on Iraq Wednesday night was less about Iraq than about its eastern neighbor, Iran.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Confronting Iran Won't End Iranian Influence in Iraq
Thursday, January 11, 2007
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
Risking direct conflict with Iran at this critical juncture in Iraq's post-Saddam history threatens to envelop that country and the region in a far more costly and destabilizing conflict.
|
|
President of NIAC Says UN Sanctions on Iran Not Bringing US Closer to Solution
Monday, December 25, 2006
By: NIAC Staff
Antagonistic US and Iranian behavior is causing diplomacy to fall victim to an endless cycle of provocations.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Will Sanctions Hurt or Aid Iran?
Sunday, December 24, 2006
By: Jalil Roshandel and Dr. Trita Paris - Analysis
More than twenty-five years of sanctions on Iran have inflicted some economic pain, but failed to alter Tehran's behavior. By impeding the development of Iran's oil sector, US sanctions have inadvertently contributed to the rise in oil prices. With demand for oil growing, sanctions may aid rather than harm Iran by further increasing the price of oil.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Blair's Messege Echo Past Failure
Thursday, December 21, 2006
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been touring the Middle East with the message that, to make peace, Iran must be isolated. But promoting Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking by isolating Iran failed in the 1990s and is likely to fail again.
|
|
NIAC Issue Brief: Implementing the Iraq Study Group's Recommendations on Iran
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
The Iraq Study Group's memorandum examines Iranian activities and interests in Iraq and presents some specific thoughts on next steps the Bush administration could take
|
|
NIAC Memo: The Fantasy of A "Sunni Bulwark" to Stabilize Iraq
Sunday, December 3, 2006
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
The Bush administration is attempting to form an Arab "Sunni bulwark" to counter growing Iranian (Shi'a) influence in the region.
|
|
Election Analysis: Democrats Now Share Responsibility For Iraq and Iran
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
The 2006 midterm elections have yielded Democratic control of both the U.S. House and Senate in what can be seen as a direct repudiation of the Bush administration. The Bush White House is now faced with a difficult context in which to continue its current "full speed ahead" approach to Iraq.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Iran Is Key to Course Change on Iraq
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
Two political earthquakes hit the United States this week. On Tuesday, the Democrats took control of Congress, and the following day, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was replaced by Robert Gates, a member of the senior Bush's foreign policy team.
|
|
The Mid-term Elections and Iranian American Interests: Analysis of the Senate
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
By: Shervin Boloorian - Analysis
With less than a week to go before the arrival of midterm elections, the stakes are raising for control of the US Senate. While 33 Senate seats will be decided this year, the Democrats need a net gain of six to take the reigns of power. Primarily because of unique Senate floor rules and the narrow Republican advantage, the Senate generally formulated more moderate legislation than the House in the last legislative session.
|
|
NIAC Issue Brief: Why Iran Is a Different Challenge to the US
Sunday, October 29, 2006
By: Dr.Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
The US must overcome Washington's lack of leverage with Iran produced by nonexistent relations over the past 26 years and reassess Iran policy in a post-Cold War, post-9/11 world
|
|
NIAC Issue Brief: Tehran's Iraq Strategy: Can It Help Or Only Hurt US Interests?
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
By: NIAC Staff - Analysis
To prevent an escalation with Tehran, Washington must commit itself to fully appreciating the range of Iranian interests while assessing their implications in a clear-eyed manner
|
|
NIAC Memo: The Khomeini Letter - Is Rafsanjani Warning the Hardliners?
Monday, October 9, 2006
By: Dr. Rasool Nafisi - Analysis
A written correspondence between the late Ayatollah Khomeini and the then commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), Mohsen Rezai, has given some insight into why Iran accepted a ceasefire with Iraq in 1988.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Will UN Sanctions Make the Nuclear Impasse Unsolvable?
Thursday, October 5, 2006
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment is rapidly leading to the reconsideration of its nuclear dossier by the UN Security Council. For the P5+1, the outstanding questions continue to be (a) what the likely outcome of greater pressure will be, and (b) what alternative approaches will have been foregone as the conflict escalates.
|
|
Register to Vote! See all Deadlines!
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
By: NIAC Staff
Voter registration deadlines in your state are coming up fast! Check out your state's deadlines below and click on each state to register to vote electronically.
|
|
Ten Reasons to Vote in November!
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
By: NIAC Staff
A vote is a terrible thing to waste. The principal difference between a tyrannical, oppressive regime and a thriving, responsive, democratic government is the people's right to vote.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Iran's French Offer - Can It Bridge The Political Divide?
Monday, October 2, 2006
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - Analysis
Iran floated the idea of a French consortium this morning, led by EURODIF, to oversee Iran's uranium enrichment activities. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana noted that the idea was "interesting" and should be examined further.
|
|
UPDATE ON HOUSE AND SENATE ACTION ON IRAN SANCTIONS
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
By: NIAC Staff
The House renewed sanctions on Iran today and passed a watered down version Iran Freedom Support Act by voice vote.
|
|
SENATE WILL MARKUP ILSA BILL THURSDAY
Friday, September 22, 2006
By: NIAC Staff
On Thursday, September 28, at 10 a.m., the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee will markup a bill to reauthorize the Iran Libya Sanctions Act.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Italy Boosts Talks on Iran But Real Test Lies Ahead
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
By: Trita Parsi - Analysis
After a tense week with several U.S. allies breaking ranks with the George W. Bush administration on Iran, an agreement has been reached to give diplomacy a bit more time.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Italy Boosts Talks on Iran But Real Test Lies Ahead
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
By: Kevin Cowl - News
After a tense week with several U.S. allies breaking ranks with the George W. Bush administration on Iran, an agreement has been reached to give diplomacy a bit more time.
|
|
Undersecretary Burns: No Guarantee Sanctions Will Work
Monday, September 18, 2006
By: Nathan Hunerwadel - News
In his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, September 19, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns stated that the "[U.S. is] currently engaged in discussions with our P5+1 partners on a sanctions resolution in the Security Council".
|
|
Anousheh Ansari Brings Pride To Iranian Americans
Monday, September 18, 2006
By: Billy Dume - News
Earlier this week, Iranian-American businesswoman and philanthropist Anousheh Ansari became the first female and Iranian American space tourist.
|
|
The Iranian nuclear stand-off: A political or technical problem?
Sunday, September 17, 2006
By: Dr. Bahram Rajaee - News
The deadlock over Iran's nuclear program has political rather than technical roots. The appetite for sanctions or a confrontation with Iran is waning among US allies, making it all the more difficult to explore technical compromises.
|
|
Giving Diplomacy a Chance
Sunday, September 10, 2006
By: NIAC Staff - News
Although both the United States and Iran express the desire for a diplomatic solution to the conflict over Iran's nuclear program, the present situation poses a significant risk of military confrontation between the two countries.
|
|
NIAC Issue Brief: Has Iran Lost Its Right to Enrichment?
Friday, August 25, 2006
By: Dr. Gareth Porter - News
Whether Iran has a right under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to enrich uranium is an issue that most of the states in the world believe is at the heart of the present conflict between Iran and the Western powers.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Rush to Sanctions Is a Slippery Slope Towards Military Action
Monday, August 21, 2006
By: Dr. Trita Parsi - Analysis
U.S. should pursue a resolution of all outstanding issues with Iran as soon as possible. Iran's response to the P5+1 proposal, which likely will fall short of Washington's expectations, should not be regarded as the end of the diplomatic track. Doing so would put the US on a slippery slope towards military action. Both containment of Iran and limited engagement has proven unsuccessful. Containment failed because Iran is too strong to be contained, and limited engagement failed because it failed to address Iran's sense of threat from the US. In addition, negotiating with Iran on limited issues such as uranium enrichment fails to take into account the many other concerns Washington has with Tehran, including Lebanon, Iraq and the human rights situation in Iran.
|
|
NIAC Memo: Responding to an Iranian Counter-Proposal: The Lessons of Lebanon
Sunday, August 20, 2006
By: Dr. Gareth Porter - Analysis
Iran will respond to the P5+1 proposal by Tuesday, August 22. The Iranians are expected to neither give a firm approval nor a categorical rejection. Rather, Tehran will likely seek to initiate negotiations with the West without agreeing to suspend enrichment activities
|
|
Portland Iranian Americans Honor Congressman Blumenauer
Thursday, August 17, 2006
By: Goudarz Eghtedari - News
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) was the key-note speaker at Portland's Iranian Festival on August 5, celebrating the Iranian people's historic contribution to democracy on the hundredth anniversary of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.
|
|
NIAC Issue Brief: Assessing the P5+1 Package to Iran
Thursday, August 10, 2006
By: Dr. Gareth Porter - News
Iran has said it will respond to the P5+1 package proposal by August 22, and assuming that Tehran refuses to accept the proposal without some revision, the discussion of the next steps by the P5+1 will begin in earnest.
|
|
Iran to defend itself in ongoing legal dispute over Persian artifacts
Thursday, August 10, 2006
By: Ehsan Tabesh - News
Washington DC - The ongoing legal dispute between victims of a 1997 terror bombing in Israel and Chicago museum and Iran (Rubin v. Iran) over ancient Persian artifacts from Persepolis has struck a chord within the Iranian-American community.
|
|
Legal Disputes Against Harvard and the University Of Chicago over Persian Artifacts Continue
Thursday, August 10, 2006
By: Ehsan Tabesh - News
Two legal cases ruling the fate of ancient Persian artifacts held at US research universities look likely to be drawn out over several years. The vanguard legal disputes, being heard at the United States District Court level, revolve around 2,000-year-old Iranian items controlled by the University of Chicago and Harvard University.
|
|
Congress Completes Work on Temporary ILSA Extension
Monday, August 7, 2006
By: Arshia Behnam - News
The Senate unanimously passed a clean extension of the Iran Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) on July 31st, 2006. The bill extends the provisions of ILSA, until September 29th, 2006. Congress, pressed for time, has now acted to extend ILSA without any controversial changes before its expiration and before the Senate's adjournment for summer recess.
|
|
NIAC Issue Brief: Influencing Iran's Nuclear Options
Monday, August 7, 2006
By: NIAC Staff - Analysis
By looking at the complete list of Iranian options and interests, the US can identify the best course of action to peacefully resolve the Iranian nuclear issue
|
|
Temporary Iran Sanctions Reauthorization Passed in the House
Thursday, July 27, 2006
By: Golnaz Yazdchi - News
In a surprise move, the House voted to extend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 (ILSA) for only two months till September 29, 2006 rather than the usual five year extension.
|
|
NIAC and IABA Join Forces to Protect Ancient Persian Artifact
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
By: Shervin Boloorian - News
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and the Iranian American Bar Association (IABA) are joining forces to protect priceless Persian artifacts from being sold for private profit.
|
|
Akbar Ganji Favors Nonviolent Resistance to Policies of the Islamic Republic
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
By: Shervin Boloorian - News
The once imprisoned journalist and writer's visit to the USA was intended to raise awareness about human rights violations and to appeal for the release of other political prisoners in Iran.
|
|
NIAC Memo:The Suspension Precondition: Lessons from Past EU-Iran Negotiation
Thursday, July 13, 2006
By: NIAC Staff - News
As the P5 + 1 discuss the fact that Iran has not yet responded to the June 6 proposal, media coverage has lost sight of the centrality of the proposal's precondition for talks in the present diplomatic conflict.
|
|
War Supplemental Sails Through House, Includes Funding for Iran Democracy Programs
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
By: Shervin Boloorian - News
On March 16, 2006, the House of Representatives approved a $92 billion supplemental appropriations package by a vote of 348 to 71. The measure (HR 4939) contains $67.6 billion in aid for Iraq military activities and $4.3 billion for foreign assistance programs, of which $56 million is set aside for programs designed to foster democratic ideals in Iran.
|
|
Iran Ethnic Minorities Seek US Help to Topple the Iranian Regime
Monday, March 6, 2006
By: Shervin Boloorian and Billy Dume - News
A consortium of political ethnic opposition leaders from Iran appealed for active US support against the Iranian government in Washington today.
Delivering remarks to Congressional staffers, the panel comprised of spokespersons for exiled Kurdish, Azeri, and Arab groups, who all advocated for external and internal support to end what one panelist described as 80 years of "systematic cultural genocide" by Iran's Persian majority.
|
|
FIRST IRANIAN-AMERICAN SOLDIER KILLED IN IRAQ
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
By: NIAC Staff
Only hours after Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Ilyad Allawi addressed a joint session of the US Congress, House Representatives Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Curt Weldon (R-PA) introduced a House Resolution calling for justice for Saddam Hussein's Iranian victims.
|
|
NIAC Members Meet Susan Davis (D-CA) in San Diego
Thursday, December 1, 2005
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC members in California's District 53 met with their Member of Congress, Representative Susan Davis (D-CA)
|
|
NIAC Spearheads Efforts to Pre-Empt Abuse of Persian Gulf
Monday, November 7, 2005
By: Ehsan Tabesh
The National Iranian American Council launched a public media education campaign to raise awareness among key influential media on the history of the Persian Gulf, and politically motivated efforts to change the name of the waters.
|
|
AN ISLAMIC REFORMATION?
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
By: NIAC Staff
Reza Aslan author of the highly praised "No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and the Future of Islam," gave a spirited dinner lecture at Au Pied Bistro in Georgetown Sunday. The issue at hand is Islam, and, more specifically, the future of this; or, as Aslan puts it, its evolutionary "reformation."
|
|
Aslan: Isolation of Iran Enables Human Rights Violations
Sunday, September 25, 2005
By: NIAC Staff
Reza Aslan, author of No god but God, deemed the current U.S. strategy to overthrow Iran's regime as "failing," in a program hosted by the Bay Area Iranian American Democrats (BAIAD) on September 22.
|
|
Brownback Panel: Human Rights Situation in Iran Deteriorating
Friday, June 17, 2005
By: Ehsan Tabesh - News
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), at a hearing on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe this past Thursday, described the human rights situation in Iran as "deteriorating."
|
|
McDermott: 'Now Is the Time to Keep Your Heads Up'
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
By: NIAC Staff - News
Iranians have been good at keeping their heads down in order to avoid being noticed, said Congressman Jim McDermott at a NIAC Congressional Breakfast on May 31 in Seattle.
|
|
Mayor Hahn of Los Angeles Stresses the Importance of Voting to Iranian Americans
Thursday, October 28, 2004
By: Abbas Zeineddin - News
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn urged all Iranian-American organizations to never miss an opportunity to register community members to vote at an Iranian-American Democrats of Los Angeles event on October 19.
|
|
NIAC Increases Airing of Public Service Announcements Urging Iranian Americans to Vote
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
By: Sam Fayyaz - News
NIAC's Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are being aired multiple times on a daily basis on several Iranian-American television and radio stations across the country!
|
|
Iranian-American Physician Runs for City Council in Irvine
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
By: NIAC Staff - News
City Council candidate Dr. Mohsen Alinaghian is a therapeutic optometrist who has lived and practiced optometry in the City of Irvine for the past twenty-five years.
|
|
The Role of Money in the US Electoral System
Saturday, July 10, 2004
By: Sam Fayyaz - News
Though certainly not the only important component of campaign politics, as Howard Dean's late flameout showed, money remains a crucial ingredient to political success.
|
|
9/11 Commission Report and NSEERS: Request For Stories
Tuesday, May 4, 2004
By: NIAC Staff - News
Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian lawyer and human rights activist awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, spoke on "Islam, Democracy and Human Rights" at the University of Maryland, College Park, while receiving an honorary doctorate from the university.
|
|
NIAC Representatives Tour Bam, Meet With Relief Organizations
Monday, February 23, 2004
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC representatives Dokhi Fassihian and Hadi Ghaemi toured the earthquake-devastated city of Bam on January 22-23.
|
|
NIAC and Many Hats Raise $4,500 for Bam in DC
Thursday, January 29, 2004
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC and the Many Hats Institute raised $4,500 for the victims of Bam at a fundraiser at Sesto Senso and Andalu in Washington DC earlier this week.
|
|
NIAC Meeting to be Held at UCLA
Monday, January 12, 2004
By: NIAC Staff - News
Washington DC - Iranian-American students at UCLA are in the process of forming a NIAC Chapter at the University and cordially invites you to attend their first introductory meeting.
|
|
Fundraiser for Bam in Santa Clara on Feb 6
Monday, January 12, 2004
By: NIAC Staff - News
Venue: Club Avalon, 777 Lawrence Expressway, Santa Clara, California
|
|
Want to Adopt an Orphaned Child from Bam?
Friday, January 2, 2004
By: NIAC Staff - News
The Earthquake Relief Funds for Orphans is an organization that works to help orphaned children.
|
|
Iranian-American Technology Council Gala Raises 30K for NIAC
Thursday, December 4, 2003
By: NIAC Staff - News
Over 430 people gathered on Thursday evening to recognize the outstanding contributions of Iranian Americans at a gala dinner and awards ceremony sponsored by the Iranian American Tech Council (IATC) at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC.
|
|
NIAC Schedules Meetups in 73 Cities for National Iranian-American Meetup Day
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
By: NIAC Staff - News
Wednesday, November 12th at 7pm has been established by NIAC as National Iranian American Meetup Day.
|
|
Member Publishes Book on Iraq
Wednesday, April 9, 2003
By: Shalizeh Najmi - News
In the midst of the recent war against Iraq , the American people's curiosity about the region has spawned numerous publications on Saddam Hussein, his regime, and terrorism.
|
|
Member Publishes Book on Iraq
Wednesday, April 9, 2003
By: Shalizeh Najmi - News
Washington, D.C. - In the midst of the recent war against Iraq , the American people's curiosity about the region has spawned numerous publications on Saddam Hussein, his regime, and terrorism.
|
|
Dr. Mansour Farhang Addresses Human Rights and Democracy in Iran
Saturday, March 29, 2003
By: Hiromi Hayashi - News
On Tuesday, March 25, Former Iranian Ambassador to the UN, Dr. Mansour Farhang, gave a lecture entitled "Iran: The Challenge of Theocracy to Universal Human Rights Advocacy" at Georgetown University. The meeting was organized by Amnesty International and "Students for Progress & Development in Iran".
|
|
Tri-State Chapter Holds First Meeting
Monday, January 27, 2003
By: NIAC Staff - News
On January 25, the NIAC Tri-State Chapter (NY-NJ-CT) held its first meeting under the leadership of NIAC Board member Dr. Hadi Ghaemi.
|
|
Lobbyists Discuss Developing an Iranian-American Political Voice
Monday, November 25, 2002
By: NIAC Staff - News
Two Washington lobbyists, Roy Coffee, former Director of the Texas office of State-Federal relations, and Dave DiStefano, former Chief of Staff for Congressman Bob Ney, spoke at the second NIAC Speaker Series November 14 at Positano Ristorante in Bethesda, Maryland.
|
|
NIAC Poll Shows Iranian Americans Suspicion of Government
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
By: NIAC Staff - News
NIAC has conducted a poll on "What concerns do you have about writing your elected officials?" on its website www.niacouncil.org. The purpose of the poll was to get a clearer idea of the reservations Iranian-Americans may have about contacting their lawmakers.
|
|
Why Voting This Tuesday Is Important for Our Community
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
By: NIAC Staff - News
While your voting record is private, the fact that you did or did not vote is public information. Candidates and political parties will use this information in the next election in 2004 to determine which groups of voters are important and which groups are not.
|
|
Morella and Van Hollen on Iranian-American Issues
Monday, October 28, 2002
By: NIAC Staff - News
Washington DC, October 28, 2002. In Maryland's 8th District, reapportionment added more Democratic voters to incumbent Republican Rep. Connie Morella's home turf.
|
|
NIAC Receives Grant from the Prestigious National Endowment for Democracy
Monday, June 10, 2002
By: Sean Murphy - News
The National Iranian American Council has received a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), after only one month since NIAC's launch.
|
|
Iranian Americans Finding Success on Capitol Hill
Tuesday, January 15, 2002
By: Newsha Moraveji - News
Yes, my name has 14 letters in it. Yes, newspapers often misspell it. I am after all, one of the few Iranian-Americans working in Congress.
|
|
Reza Aslan: Islam, Democracy and the War on Terror
Thursday, November 30, 2000
By: NIAC Staff - News
"Islam, Democracy and the War on Terror"
|
