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Saeidi's Timeline

1989
1989

Emigration from Iran

  • Saeidi was born in Iran and emigrated to the United States with her family in 1989, at approximately seven years of age, entering the Iranian diaspora as a child.
  • This move sets up a later career focused on post‑revolutionary Iran, state power, and gender.
2000s–2011s
2000s–2011s

Cambridge PhD and Research

  • She earns a Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge, later turning the dissertation into her book Women and the Islamic Republic (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
  • Former political prisoners whose memoirs she used, including Nasrin Parvaz and others, later accuse her of misusing, de‑contextualizing, or fabricating material, saying this whitewashes regime crimes.
2012–2018
2012–2018

Extended Fieldwork in Iran

  • Saeidi spends several years living and teaching in Iran, conducting fieldwork on state formation, violence, citizenship, and gender in post‑1979 Iran.
  • She works with universities and research institutions operating under regime oversight and describes receiving help from the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization (IIDO), an organ directly under the Supreme Leader, which critics see as compromising her independence.
2018
2018

University of Arkansas appointment

  • She joins the University of Arkansas as an assistant professor of political science and is appointed director of the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies, becoming the first woman to lead the program.
  • This role amplifies the impact of her scholarship and public interventions on Iran and the Middle East in U.S. academia.
2023
2023

This is the heading

  • Saeidi sends two letters on official University of Arkansas letterhead to the Swedish Svea Court of Appeal in the Hamid Nouri case, involving a former prison official convicted of war crimes and murder for the 1988 mass executions.
  • In the letter she cites a fabricated quote attributed to former prisoner Maryam Nouri and casts doubt on the authenticity of Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa ordering the 1988
2025
2025

March 24, 2025 – First formal complaint to the University of Arkansas

Lawdan Bazargan, writing on behalf of AAIRIA and as a family member of a victim of the 1988 prison massacres, sends the first formal letter to University of Arkansas Chancellor Robinson raising serious concerns about Dr. Shirin Saeidi’s conduct.

  • Objects to Dr. Shirin Saeidi’s unsolicited intervention in the Hamid Nouri trial using official University of Arkansas letterhead.
  • Raises concern that her letter questioned survivor testimony related to crimes against humanity.
  • Asks whether Saeidi was authorized to use university affiliation in a foreign criminal proceeding.
  • Requests clarification on whether the university endorses or disavows her statements.
  • Warns that misuse of institutional authority in a war-crimes case raises ethical and national-security concerns.
2025
2025

April 25, 2025 – Second letter demanding clarification and apology

After receiving no response, AAIRIA sends a second letter to the University of Arkansas reiterating concerns and emphasizing newly surfaced evidence confirming Ayatollah Khomeini’s second fatwa ordering the execution of leftist prisoners in 1988.

  • Notes that no response was received to the March 24 letter.
  • Cites newly released evidence confirming Ayatollah Khomeini’s second fatwa ordering the execution of leftist prisoners in 1988.
  • States that this evidence directly contradicts claims made by Saeidi to the Swedish court.
  • Demands a public clarification that Saeidi was not authorized to represent the university.
  • Calls for a formal reprimand and a public apology to the families of the victims of the 1988 massacre.
2025
2025

May 1, 2025 – Formal demand for retraction and investigation

AAIRIA escalates the matter with a detailed letter titled “Academic Misconduct of Dr. Shirin Saeidi and Demand for Retraction and Public Apology.”

  • Accuses Saeidi of serious academic misconduct for defending a convicted perpetrator of crimes against humanity.
  • Argues that her intervention misrepresented well-documented historical facts and undermined survivor testimony.
  • Raises concerns about her broader scholarship, including patterns of minimizing state violence and normalizing repression.
  • Demands a public retraction of her claims related to the Hamid Nouri case.
  • Calls for an official apology from the University of Arkansas to victims’ families and a formal ethics review of her conduct.
2025
2025

July 10, 2025 – Fourth follow-up and warning of escalation

After months without a substantive response, AAIRIA sends a fourth follow-up letter to Chancellor Robinson expressing concern over continued institutional silence.

  • Notes continued institutional silence despite multiple prior letters.
  • States explicitly that the issue concerns ethical responsibility and misuse of university authority, not academic freedom.
  • Demands a formal response addressing Saeidi’s use of letterhead and institutional affiliation.
  • Warns that failure to act will result in escalation, including public protest and media engagement.
  • Signals intent to contact external stakeholders connected to the King Fahd Center regarding reputational and ethical risks.
2025
2025

September 29, 2025 – Ethics complaint to Cambridge Politics Department

  • Lawdan Bazargan, on behalf of survivors and AAIRIA, files a detailed research‑ethics complaint with Cambridge’s Politics & International Studies Department about Saeidi’s dissertation and book.
  • The letter alleges fabricated interviews, false quotations, and misuse of survivor testimony (especially Maryam Nouri and Monireh Baradaran), and links these issues to the Nouri court letter as an example of revisionism that undermines accountability for the 1988 massacre.
2025
2025

October 23 & 31, 2025 – Complaints to Arkansas leadership and Jewish Studies

  • In October 2025, AAIRIA and allied survivors send letters to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees and to Jewish Studies raising alarms about Saeidi’s conduct, antisemitic rhetoric, and alignment with Islamic Republic narratives.
  • These letters argue that her positions endanger Jewish students, distort Holocaust and genocide discourse, and should be treated as a serious institutional risk.
2025
2025

November 20, 2025 – “Thank You” letter to Arkansas Legislature

  • Bazargan sends “Thank You for Your Oversight Regarding Dr. Shirin Saeidi” to members of the Arkansas House, explicitly as AAIRIA.
  • The letter thanks lawmakers for requesting Saeidi’s syllabi, attaches AAIRIA’s detailed bio, and emphasizes concerns over her state‑linked access in Iran, alleged misrepresentation of prisoners, and national‑security implications of allowing a regime‑aligned academic in a public university.
2025
2025

December 5, 2025 – Dual escalation: Arkansas and Cambridge General Counsel

  • On the same date, two major AAIRIA actions occur:
    • 1) Arkansas Legislature: Bazargan sends “Urgent Concerns Regarding Antisemitism and Academic Misconduct by University of Arkansas Faculty Member” to Arkansas House and Senate. ​
      • The letter details Saeidi’s antisemitic, eliminationist rhetoric about Israel; her alignment with Islamic Republic talking points; fabricated interviews and quotations (Maryam Nouri and Monireh Baradaran); and her intervention in the Nouri war‑crimes tribunal, urging a formal, transparent investigation by the university and continued legislative oversight.
    • 2) Cambridge General Counsel: Bazargan separately writes to Cambridge’s General Counsel reiterating research‑misconduct claims and noting multiple survivors have confirmed they were never interviewed.
      • The letter demands a formal investigation into the validity of Saeidi’s PhD, identification of all misused survivors, and clarification of Cambridge’s corrective or disciplinary steps.
  • Around this time, following mounting public outcry over Saeidi’s Nouri letter and her social‑media statements praising Ali Khamenei and using hostile language toward Israel, the University of Arkansas removes her from the directorship of the Middle East Studies program.
2025
2025

Late 2025 – Social media revelations and “apologist” designation

  • Reports surface documenting that Saeidi praised Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and used highly hostile language toward Israel on social media, prompting accusations of antisemitism and explicit alignment with the regime’s propaganda line.
  • AAIRIA publishes its profile describing her as an “apologist and soft‑power asset” for the Islamic Republic, warning that her long‑term access to state institutions, her Nouri intervention, and praise for Khamenei collectively normalize and launder the regime’s image in Western academia.
2025
2025

December 13–14, 2025 – Clubhouse appearances

  • After being removed as director, Saeidi appears in two Clubhouse rooms on December 13 and 14, 2025, where she discusses her dismissal and attacks critics.
  • In these sessions she claims the dean “labeled [her] a terrorist,” blames “Zionist lobbies,” asserts that Arkansas lawmakers are mostly funded by Israel, says she shared the dean’s nine‑page letter with Islamic Republic authorities, and frames the situation as a free‑speech and “jihad” struggle, while threatening legal action against those alleging fabrication.
2025
2025

December 17, 2025 – Documentation letter to Dean Raines

  • Bazargan sends “Documentation of Public Statements by Prof. Shirin Saeidi on Clubhouse Dec. 13–14, 2025” to Dean Raines, copying a large network including Cambridge and AAIRIA contacts.
  • The letter systematically documents Saeidi’s Clubhouse remarks, the dissemination of internal Arkansas correspondence to regime‑aligned audiences, and notes that three former prisoners cited in her book have now filed formal complaints with Cambridge University Press, which has opened a research‑misconduct investigation

Relevant Articles About Shirin Saeidi

## December 20, 2025

 

– **Mehr News (Persian) – “حمایت از «شیرین سعیدی» دفاع از آزادی علمی و وجدان است؛ آپارتاید علمی”** 

  Argues that supporting Saeidi is a defense of academic freedom and “freedom of conscience,” framing her case as an example of “academic apartheid” by the U.S. against dissenting views on Israel and Iran.

 

***

 

## December 19, 2025

 

– **KNWA/FOX24 – “Arkansas professor’s Israel remarks ignite free speech debate”** 

  Reports that Saeidi’s social‑media remarks about Israel have sparked a campus and statewide debate over free speech and academic freedom, with some defending her rights and others denouncing her rhetoric as antisemitic or extremist.

 

– **Red River Radio – “University of Arkansas Removes Head of Middle East Studies After Social Media Posts on Israel”** 

  Explains that the University of Arkansas removed Saeidi as head of Middle East Studies after posts praising Khamenei and condemning Israel, outlining the university’s justification and noting the controversy over whether this violates academic freedom.

 

***

 

## December 17, 2025

 

– **New York Post – “‘Pro-Iran regime’ University of Arkansas prof. now under investigation over academic fraud: Publisher”** 

  Reveals that Cambridge University Press has opened an investigation into possible academic fraud in Saeidi’s book, while describing her as “pro‑Iran regime” and tying the probe to survivor complaints about fabricated interviews and her letter regarding Hamid Nouri.

 

***

 

## December 14, 2025

 

– **Kayhan (Tehran, Persian) – “استاد ایرانی دانشگاه در آمریکا به اتهام انتقاد از اسرائیل و تمجید از رهبر انقلاب اخراج شد”** 

  States that an Iranian professor in the U.S. (Saeidi) has been removed because she criticized Israel and praised Iran’s Supreme Leader, portraying her as a victim of U.S. repression and Zionist pressure rather than of misconduct findings.

 

– **Iran Focus – “University of Arkansas Dismisses Faculty Member After Praise for Khamenei”** 

  Reports that Saeidi was dismissed from her leadership role after praising Khamenei and criticizing Israel, emphasizing that she also used university letterhead to support Hamid Nouri and that dissidents view her as aligned with Iran’s regime.

 

– **Hamshahri – “«سید علی» ایران را در حمله اسرائیل سالم نگه داشت + ویدئو | توئیت مهم شیرین سعیدی قبل از برکناری”** 

  Highlights Saeidi’s viral post praising Khamenei for keeping Iran “safe” during an Israeli attack and presents that tweet and video as central to the controversy leading to her removal.

 

– **Afkar News – “پاپوش صهیونیست‌ها علیه استاد زن ایرانی +تصاویر”** 

  Claims that “Zionists” fabricated a case against a female Iranian professor in the U.S., depicting Saeidi as the target of a smear campaign and including images to support a narrative of political victimization.

 

– **Saheb Khabar – broader political article including Saeidi** 

  In a broader piece on Iran–US politics and international issues, includes a segment criticizing the University of Arkansas for its treatment of Saeidi and presenting her dismissal as another sign of U.S. hypocrisy on human rights and free speech.

 

– **Mizan (Persian) – “برکناری یک استاد ایرانی از دانشگاه آمریکا به دلیل انتقاد از رژیم صهیونیستی”** 

  States that the Iranian professor was removed from a U.S. university because she criticized the “Zionist regime,” framing the move as political punishment and ignoring the Nouri letter and fraud allegations.

 

– **Mashregh News – “پرونده‌سازی ضدانقلاب و صهیونیست‌ها علیه استاد زن ایرانی”** 

  Asserts that “anti‑revolutionaries and Zionists” manufactured a case against Saeidi, denying or downplaying the accusations about Nouri and academic misconduct, and portraying her as a loyal supporter of the Islamic Republic under attack.

 

– **Alef News – “پرونده‌سازی صهیونیست‌ها علیه استاد زن ایرانی”** 

  Similarly alleges that Zionists built a false case against the Iranian woman professor, framing her removal as part of a broader anti‑Iran and anti‑Palestine agenda in U.S. academia.

 

– **PressTV (English) – “University of Arkansas in US fires Iranian professor over support for Iran, Palestine”** 

  Says the university fired Saeidi over her support for Iran and Palestine, stressing her condemnation of Israel and minimizing mention of the Nouri letter or alleged misconduct, and depicting this as a human‑rights violation by the U.S.

 

– **IRNA – “اخراج استاد ایرانی دانشگاه آرکانزاس رسوایی دیگر آمریکا در نقض حقوق بشر است”** 

  Treats Saeidi’s firing as “another scandal” exposing U.S. human‑rights violations, quoting Iranian judicial officials who say her dismissal for pro‑Palestine positions shows U.S. intolerance of dissent.

 

– **Jamaran – “برکناری «شیرین سعیدی» استاد ایرانی به دلیل حمایت از ایران توسط دانشگاه آرکانزاس آمریکا + عکس”** 

  Reports that Arkansas removed Saeidi due to her support for Iran and Palestine, presenting photos and adopting an explicitly sympathetic tone towards her and hostile tone towards U.S. authorities.

 

– **Mizan (English) – “Iranian professor dismissed from U.S. university over criticism of the Israeli regime”** 

  English‑language framing that she was dismissed because she criticized the “Israeli regime,” echoing the same narrative of political repression and leaving out survivor‑led complaints and the Nouri issue.

 

***

 

## December 13, 2025

 

– **Mehr News (English) – “Iranian professor at University of Arkansas fired”** 

  Reports that the University of Arkansas removed Saeidi from directing Middle East Studies, describing the decision as driven by “Zionist lobby” pressure over her anti‑Israel and pro‑Iran posts, and briefly mentioning the Nouri‑letter issue while framing it as legitimate activism.

 

– **Kayhan (English or int’l) – “Iranian Professor in U.S. Removed From Leadership Role Over Posts”** 

  States that Saeidi was removed from her leadership role over social‑media posts in support of Iran and Palestine, calling the move a violation of academic freedom and portraying U.S. officials and “Zionists” as the aggressors.

 

– **Iran Focus (republished in some outlets)** 

  Notes the New York Post report on her dismissal, detailing both her praise for Khamenei and her use of letterhead for Hamid Nouri, and explicitly connecting her case to regime influence concerns.

 

***

 

## Other undated / closely‑clustered articles


##December 14, 2025

 

– **Kayhan London (Persian) – “کنار گذاشته شدن رئیس برنامه مطالعات خاورمیانه دانشگاه آرکانزاس…”** 

  Covers her removal as head of Middle East Studies, stressing her praise of Khamenei and hostile stance toward Israel, and presenting her removal as an ideologically motivated decision under pressure from anti‑Iran and pro‑Israel groups

 

##December 18, 2025

 

– **Kayhan London (Persian) – “دانشگاه آرکانزاس برکناری دکتر شیرین سعیدی را تأیید کرد؛ متن کامل نامه رسمی رئیس دانشکده…”** 

  Publishes and analyzes the dean’s letter confirming her removal, highlighting passages that mention antisemitism concerns and her use of letterhead over Hamid Nouri, while criticizing the university’s rationale

 

##December 14, 2025

– **WANA / WANA English – “Iranian Assistant Professor Dismissed from University of Arkansas”** 

  Reports that an Iranian assistant professor was dismissed due to pro‑Iran and anti‑Israel statements, adopting a line close to other Iranian state‑aligned outlets that cast her as a free‑speech victim.[4]


##December 13 & 14, 2025

– **PressTV, Islam Times, similar** 

  Variants in these outlets repeat the same frame: Saeidi was punished for supporting Palestine and Iran and criticizing Israel, while presenting her letter on Hamid Nouri and praise for Khamenei as legitimate resistance rather than as part of a pattern of regime advocacy and alleged academic fraud

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