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Friday, 06/28/2024 Benjamin Weinthal Contributor The Iranian-American campaign to oust a former top official of the Islamic Republic from his job at Princeton University reached the northern German port city of Hamburg on Thursday. Roughly forty Iranian-Germans protested against Seyed Hossein Mousavian and his relations with a largely pro-Islamic Republic German think tank. The California-based organization, Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA), launched a campaign against Mousavian in March after it was revealed that he allegedly played a role in the assassinations of at least 24 Iranian dissidents in the 1990’s. The prominent German-Iranian dissident Mina Ahadi spearheaded the protest in front of the think tank Körber Foundation in Hamburg. Mousavian was the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to Germany from 1990 to 1997 when Iran’s regime assassinated Kurdish dissidents in a West Berlin restaurant Mykonos in 1992. Ahadi told Iran International that Farah Madaen spoke against Körber’s “dialogue” with Mousavian and the regime in Tehran. Madaen’s three brothers and sister were executed by the Islamic Republic in the 1980’s for dissident activity. “We don’t where there bodies are,“ Madean said at the protest. Körber is under fire for recently inviting Mousavian to Hamburg for an event. The controversial German organization has long courted Mousavian as one of its key speakers. “This campaign has showed that Körber cannot repeat something with Mousavian unless they do it secretly, “said Ahadi. Maria Mahmoudi also delivered a speech at the protest. The Islamic Republic executed her husband, the Iranian-Kurd, Mohammad Faramarzi, and three other Kurdish dissidents in January, for alleged links to Israel. AAIRIA has urged Princeton University to fire Mousavian and called on Körber to swiftly sever ties with Mousavian. Ahadi and two other German-Iranians, Jasmin Maleki and Ali Ertan Toprak, were present at a Wednesday meeting with Körber representatives, Thomas Paulsen and Julian Claaßen. Ahadi posted a picture on her X account from the meeting.  Ahadi told the Körber officials that the German community wants the foundation to conduct “an interview with us in order to respond to Mousavian.” Körber interviewed Mousavian and posted the question and answer session with him on its website. She also expressed the Iranian diaspora’s “criticism of Körber’s appeasement policy” toward the clerical regime during the meeting. Ahadi requested that Körber hold an event with German-Iranians who oppose the Islamic Republic. The organization International Women in Power also condemned Körber in a statement, for “providing a platform to Mousvian who worked for the brutal Iranian gender apartheid regime and is known for defending the fatwa against Salman Rushdie.” Mousavian has strongly endorsed a so-called Iranian fatwa ordering the murder of the British-American writer Rushdie. He defended the fatwa during interviews with German media outlets and told Spiegel magazine about Rushdie: “I hate him. He insulted my religion, my prophet, the laws.” Mousavian also supports the German and US-designated terrorist entities, Hamas and Hezbollah. Körber was founded by the former Nazi, Kurt Adolf Körber (1909-1992), who exploited concentration camp victims to advance the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler’s war goals. When asked about Mousavian’s support for the antisemitic terrorist organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah, and the comment from Daniel Killy, a member of the advisory board of the Jewish community of Hamburg, who demanded that Körber stop “inviting apologists of the Mullah regime,” the commissioner tasked with fighting antisemitism in Hamburg, Stefan Hensel, refused to comment. Killy told Iran International that Körber should “sack the people within their foundation being responsible for the invitations over the years.” Körber took credit on its website about a delegation it sent to Iran in 2017. Iran International has learned that Körber does not want the picture circulated. Iran International asked Körber and Körber AG about the names of its employees who were Iran and the nature of its business deals with the Islamic Republic. The Körber Foundation and its parent company, Körber AG, did not immediately respond to Iran International press queries about Mousavian and its business relations with Iran’s regime.. Mousavian refused to answer Iran International email and WhatsApp press queries. Please Click Here for the article.

Nader’s criticism of the pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah academic, Mousavian, who teaches at Princeton University, comes amid a slated Thursday demonstration against the former Iranian official. By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL JUNE 23, 2024 20:37 Updated: JULY 1, 2024 03:26 Former Iranian nuclear negotiator Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who expressed a wish that the former Islamic Republic president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would have built an atomic bomb, had a goal to “advance Iran’s nuclear weapons program all along,” US Iran expert Alireza Nader, told the Jerusalem Post last week. Mousavian previously told an Iranian regime-controlled news outlet, “If I was the decision-maker [during the Ahmadinejad era] … I would have produced a nuclear bomb.” “Why then, asks Nader, “does Princeton continue to present this dangerous man as a trustworthy academic?” Nader added “It’s incredible that the Obama and Biden administrations relied on Mousavian as a credible interlocutor and advocate on the nuclear issue.” Nader’s criticism of the pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah academic, who teaches at Princeton University, comes amid a slated Thursday demonstration against the former Iranian official in front of the Körber Foundation in Hamburg, Germany. A multi-pronged international campaign launched by the California-based Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) is demanding that Körber and Princeton sever ties with Mousavian. Mina Ahadi, a prominent Iranian dissident in Germany, spearheading the Hamburg protest against Mousvaian, wrote in a public letter to the director of Körber, Lothar Dietmar, “Mousavian has been active in the Iranian government since his youth and served as ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Germany under the governments of [Akbar] Rafsanjani and [Mohammad] Khatami. He is accused of being involved in the killings of at least 24 Iranian opponents of the Islamic Republic abroad, including the 1992 Mykonos restaurant massacre of Kurds in Berlin.” Ahadi continued that Mousavian “represents a government based on crime and sexual apartheid that creates insecurity around the world by supporting terrorist groups. Despite these facts, he claims to be an advocate for peace. “Your foundation should, in view of the history of its founder, Kurt Körber, who produced military equipment using forced labor during the Nazi era, make a special effort not to make concessions to the terrorist regime in Iran and to avoid such eyesores.” Walls are closing in THEW WALLS are closing in on Mousavian, according to his critics. In April, he lashed out at Iranian-Americans and German-Iranians, many of them victims of Iranian brutality, protesting in front of Princeton University. Daniel Killy, a member of the advisory board of the Jewish Community of Hamburg, told the Post, “It is absolutely unbearable that the Körber foundation has been and still is engaging Mr. Mousavian.” Korber should stop “inviting apologists of the Mullah regime,” and “sack the people within their foundation being responsible for the invitations over the years.” Gazelle Sharmahd, whose father was kidnapped and sentenced to death, told the Post, “No think tank in our democratic countries should be advertising regime propaganda disguised as ‘diplomatic tactics’ and ‘academic research.’” Sharmahd, a well-known human rights advocate in Germany and in the US, added, “He poses as a peace promoter while simultaneously attending the funeral of Islamic Republican Guard Corps commander (Qasem) Soleimani” assassinated by the US in 2020. “Universities and think tanks, like Körber and SWP (German Institute for International and Security Affairs), who frequently push the narrative and goals of the Islamic regime as ‘expert advice’ … should be investigated because that is abnormal.” She continued by saying “the Lebanese, Afghan, Syrian, Iraqi, Yemeni and particularly the Jewish community, who have been massively targeted by antisemitic violence and propaganda,” should cooperate to sever these destructive and dangerous relationships. Mousavian has been accused of stoking antisemitism. After October 7 Mousavian compared Israel to Nazi Germany and claimed that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza, calling it “a crime similar to the Holocaust of Nazi Germany.” MOUSAVIAN ENDORSED the Ayatollah Khomeini fatwa to murder the British-American writer Salman Rushdie. Yet, Julian Claaßen a spokesman for Körber, refused to comment on that, and told the Post, “At Körber-Stiftung, we stand up for the fundamental values of our constitution, including the inviolability of human dignity and the prohibition of discrimination based on gender, origin, language, background, faith, or political views…. It is our policy not to tolerate extremist ideas or individuals who use hatred, incitement, or violence against our democracy.” He refused to condemn Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations, though Germany and the United States do. Körber’s spokesman also declined to call Mousavian’s Israel-Nazi comparison antisemitic. The Federal German government has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which calls such a comparison antisemitism. Hamburg’s commissioner to support Jewish life and combat antisemitism, Stefan Hensel, told the Post, “ I cannot comment substantively on the specific allegations as the breadth and depth of this issue transcends my present competencies.” According to its website, Körber is an international technology group with more than 12,000 employees at over 100 locations worldwide“ and is involved in Digital, Pharma, Supply Chain, and Technologies. Körber, which has business locations in the United States, posted sales in fiscal year 2023 totaling €2.9 billion. Henriette Viebig, a spokeswoman for Körber AG, told the Post, “Körber is committed to freedom and democracy” and noted, “We are as committed to the fundamental values of our German constitution as our owner, the Körber-Stiftung … We oppose any political movement that calls these values into question and threatens our open society … In this way, we want to contribute to civic cohesion and a vibrant democracy.” Viebig refused to comment on whether Körber conducts business with Iran’s regime or in the Islamic Republic. There are discussions within the AAIRIA to mount a global boycott of Körber AG products if the Körber Foundation does not pull the plug on its relationship with Mousavian and Iran’s regime. Mousavian did not respond to the Post’s email or WhatsApp queries. Please Click Here for the article.

The London-based independent news organization Iran International published a report in early June about Iran’s clandestine negotiations with Niger’s Junta government. By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL JUNE 9, 2024 14:25 Updated: JUNE 10, 2024 20:02 The Islamic Republic of Iran purchased 300 tons of refined uranium from Niger in a secret deal that is part of Tehran’s drive to amass the resources for the construction of a nuclear weapons device. The London-based independent news organization Iran International published a report in early June about Iran’s clandestine negotiations with Niger’s Junta government. Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist, wrote that the deal was first reported by the France-based news organization Africa Intelligence in late April. Iran reached an agreement with Niger to purchase 300 tons of yellowcake in exchange for the delivery of drones and surface-to-air missiles to Niger, wrote Iran International. Yellowcake is a term used to describe concentrated uranium, a yellow-looking powder used to manufacture weapons-grade uranium for atomic weapons. Niger’s military regime denied the covert agreement with Tehran. According to Iran International, the French daily newspaper Le Monde confirmed the secret deal between Iran and Niger. The mine in Arlit, Niger, where the uranium is being extracted, is owned by the French company Orano. Mohammad Eslami, the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told journalists after the publication of the Le Monde article: “You must consider the source of the news. For the first time ever, we announced the news of the Islamic Republic’s modest nuclear program to the ears of people in all corners of the world in a completely professional manner.”  The disclosure about the Iran-Niger uranium deal coincides with former defense minister Avigdor Liberman declaring that Iran seeks a nuclear Holocaust targeting the lone Jewish state. Liberman told Army Radio last week that  Iran is “planning a Holocaust for us in the next two years.” He continued, “We are in the midst of an Iranian extermination program,” the head of the Yisrael Beytenu party chairman said. Liberman noted, “Israel will be attacked to destroy it from several fronts with tens of thousands of missiles at the same time. They are planning a holocaust for us in the next two years.” Iran rebuked by IAEA members Member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rebuked Iran on Wednesday for its lack of cooperation with agency inspectors.  On Friday, the British, French, and German governments forwarded a letter to the United Nations Security Council outlining Iran’s violations of the 2015 nuclear deal. However, the European countries and the US have not triggered the “snap back” UN sanctions against Tehran for its ongoing violations of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The Trump administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name for the Iran nuclear deal, in 2018 .  Trump called it a “horrible deal” that does not permanently stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The JCPOA expires on October 18, 2025. According to a 2019 Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) report, “What is certain is that in December 2015, according to the Russian Tass news agency, Russia provided Iran with 200 tons of yellowcake.” The President of MEMRI, Yigal Carmon, and the organization’s Iran expert,  Ayelet Savyon, wrote at the time “While the U.S. protests Iran’s minor breach, announced this week, of the 300 kg limit on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium set in the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal, the location of 8.5 tons of Iranian-enriched uranium that Iran ostensibly shipped to its ally Russia that year remains completely unknown.” Iran’s regime is moving rapidly toward the production of 90% weapons-grade levels of uranium. The IAEA reported in May that Iran enriched up to 60% uranium. Separately but related, the pro-Iran regime academic Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who served as spokesman for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the international community (2003-2005) and helped the Islamic Republic of Iran secure the right to enrich uranium during negotiations with the Europeans, is under fire for appearing at the  Hamburg-based  Körber Foundation. The Jerusalem Post reported last month that Iranian-Americans and German-Iranians are calling on Princeton University to fire Mousavian from his academic post because of his alleged role in the assassinations of over 20 Iranian dissidents during the 1990s in Europe. Mousavian remains a supporter of the US and German-designated terrorist movements, Hamas and Hezbollah. He endorsed the Iranian regime fatwa to murder the British-American writer Salman Rushdie. Mousavian previously declined to answer Post queries. Lawdan Bazargan, the Iranian-American human rights activist and expert on the Islamic Republic, who oversees the campaign Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA), took to X on Saturday to blast the Körber Foundation for hosting Mousavian. She wrote, “Shame on @KoerberIP for promoting Hossein Mousavian, a known terrorist with blood on his hands from his involvement in Iranian human rights abuses. Highlighting such a figure under the guise of diplomacy is a disgrace. Instead of distancing themselves from their dark Nazi past, @KoerberIP continues to promote human rights abusers, dictators, and radical fundamentalists.” The former Nazi, Kurt A. Körber, who advanced Hitler’s destruction of European Jewry and war aims, established his foundation after the war.  The Körber Foundation is energetically working to promote Mousavian in Germany with the Table.Briefings, a Berlin-based company. According to a Table.Briefings X post, Mousavian spoke to Jonathan Lehrer from Körber about his advocacy for “negotiations with Tehran and not further sanctions.” Körber spokesman Julian Claaßen told Iran International, “Dr. Hossein Mousavian was invited to background discussions at Körber-Stiftung in Berlin and Hamburg. Since its inception, Körber-Stiftung has been committed to dialogue, in line with the motto of our founder Kurt A. Körber, “Talking to each other, not about each other.” Our aim is to explore the scope for political action and to contribute to international understanding, especially in times of acute crisis and conflict.” Claaßen said Körber will not comment on Mousavian’s alleged antisemitism, support of Hamas and Hezbollah, endorsement of the fatwa to assassinate Rushdie, and his reported role in the killing spree of over 20 Iranian dissidents. Claaßen said,” We do notContinue reading “Iran bought 300 tons of uranium from Niger for illicit nuke weapon program – report”

Sunday, 06/09/2024 Lawdan Bazargan Iran’s censure at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting this week underscored the ongoing tensions surrounding the country’s nuclear program. The IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution urging Iran to increase its cooperation with the agency and reverse actions that have hindered inspectors, despite concerns that Tehran might respond with further atomic escalation. This resolution, drafted by the European troika, Britain, France and Germany known as E3, and reluctantly supported by the US, passed with 20 votes in favor, two against (Russia and China), and 12 abstentions. In his remarks in May, IAEA head Rafael Grossi had raised alarms over Iran’s threats to develop nuclear weapons while expressing hope for serious dialogue. This juxtaposition highlights a critical issue: Iran has a history of using negotiations as a strategic tool to advance its nuclear capabilities, extract concessions, and avoid punitive measures, all while continuing its covert operations and support for militant groups. Over the past 30 years, Iran’s negotiation strategy has been marked by deception and delay. Every diplomatic engagement with the West has been leveraged to buy time, stop damning UN resolutions for human rights violations, enhance its nuclear technology, and gain economic and political concessions without genuinely abandoning its nuclear ambitions. In the early 2000s, revelations about undeclared nuclear facilities in Natanz and Arak triggered international concern and led to negotiations. However, Iran’s responses were characterized by stalling tactics. While Tehran engaged in talks (in 2000s and 2010s) and agreed to suspend uranium enrichment temporarily, it simultaneously continued covert activities and expanded its nuclear infrastructure. These negotiations provided Iran with the breathing room needed to develop its capabilities further while presenting a facade of cooperation. Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator, provides an illustrative example of this tactic in a 2005 interview with Iran’s National TV. Mousavian explained that in 2003, Iran faced a 50-day ultimatum to suspend its enrichment activities. Instead of complying, Iran entered into negotiations with the IAEA and Europe, which extended the deadline and bought Iran two years to complete its projects in Esfahan and Natanz. During this period, Iran advanced its nuclear capabilities, gained permission to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), and secured international guarantees for its security, national sovereignty, non-intervention in its internal affairs, and protection against invasion. (Minute 15:37 to End) Another example of this strategy has been particularly evident in the context of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and other diplomatic efforts. The JCPOA, signed in 2015, was hailed as a landmark achievement aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program. However, even during these negotiations, Iran’s intentions were suspect. The deal provided Iran with significant economic relief and lifting of sanctions, yet evidence suggests that Iran continued to advance its nuclear research and missile programs clandestinely. In 2018, stolen Iranian nuclear documents seized by Israeli intelligence demonstrated that Iran’s nuclear program was more extensive than previously known, with plans to build up to five nuclear weapons. These revelations highlighted Iran’s strategy of deception and its efforts to advance its nuclear capabilities under the guise of peaceful purposes. These documents prove that even before President Trump exited the JCPOA, Iran was dishonest about its nuclear activities. Also, it continued developing its nuclear capabilities, building missiles, and arming militant groups in the Middle East, some listed by other countries as terrorist organizations. The repercussions of these activities were starkly evident in the October 7 attack on Israel, the Houthi disruptions of vessels in the Red Sea, and the Hezbollah attacks on Israel from Lebanon. The international community’s response has been mixed, with European countries often seeking to salvage the deal through concessions, inadvertently reinforcing Iran’s strategy of using negotiations to gain time and advantages. Notably, Iran’s nuclear negotiators, such as Mousavian and Javad Zarif, were trained by Ali Akbar Velayati, who has regularly expressed a deep-seated animosity toward the West and its liberal values and has been one of the main figures in Iran’s foreign policy for the past four decades. Many of these negotiators lived and studied in the West, gaining a profound understanding of Western political dynamics and strategies. Iran’s negotiators are well-versed in the concept of carrot and stick, frequently employing it against Western countries: threatening to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons while simultaneously calling for negotiations, seeking sanctions relief, and demanding a more significant influence in the Middle East. This approach leverages both intimidation and diplomacy to advance Iran’s geopolitical goals, increasing its bargaining power. This malevolence is evident in the recommendations of Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator, who advocated for Iran to abandon efforts to revive the JCPOA. He suggested that Iran should begin enriching uranium to 90 percent purity and then engage in direct negotiations with the United States to obtain necessary concessions. Mousavian echoed this sentiment, stating that when the pressure is too high and the consequences too severe, Iran should move directly toward developing a nuclear bomb. They hold a powerful card, knowing that Europeans are opposed to war between the US and Iran and that the US is unlikely to launch a costly attack on Iran. Thus, Iran uses its proxies to create mayhem in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Israel, and Lebanon, supplies missiles and drones to Russia for use against Ukraine, plans terror attacks against Iranians in the diaspora, and simultaneously demands negotiations. A critical understanding of Iran’s foreign policy reveals that, regardless of who holds the positions of president, foreign minister, or negotiator, the ultimate authority lies with the Supreme Leader, as outlined in the IRI constitution. This concentration of power means that meaningful concessions are only made under significant external pressure when the regime finds itself with no viable alternatives. This dynamic underscores the international community’s need to maintain a firm stance, applying consistent pressure to elicit genuine cooperation from the Supreme Leader, since all past negotiations only succeeded when the pressure was too high and the Supreme Leader feared losing power. Iran’s negotiation history clearly shows a strategy not driven by a genuine desire for peace or cooperation.Continue reading “Signals from Tehran: A Pattern of Talks, Deception and Delay”

به دنبال افشاگری نگران کننده سمافور در مورد روابط دانشگاه پرینستون با رژیم اسلامی ایران، اتحاد علیه مهره های رژیم اسلامی ایران (AAIRIA) خواستار تحقیقات فوری کنگره امریکا در مورد عملیات نفوذ مداوم رژیم ایران در خاک ایالات متحده است. علاوه بر این، AAIRIA از دانشگاه پرینستون می‌خواهد که روابط خود را با سید حسین موسویان، که به‌عنوان عامل رژیم اسلامی ایران شناخته می‌شود، قطع کند. دانشگاه های آمریکا باید به عنوان مراکز تحقیقی و آموزشی عمل کنند، نه کانال هایی برای تبلیغات خصمانه خارجی. گزارش های گسترده ای در مورد جزئیات دخالت سفارت جمهوری اسلامی ایران در آلمان و دخالت موسویان در فعالیت های تروریستی رژیم ایران در خاک اروپا وجود دارد. همچنین حمایت موسویان از فتوا علیه سلمان رشدی نویسنده کتاب “آیات شیطانی”، نقش وی در گسترش تاسیسات هسته ای ایران و فریب مذاکره کنندگان غربی و آژانس بین المللی انرژی اتمی و ادعاهای نادرست وی در مورد یک فتوای هسته ای خیالی، همگی مستلزم بررسی و موشکافی دقیق است. جمهوری اسلامی ایران رژیمی است که با حمایت از تروریسم و ترویج اسلام شیعه به عنوان یکی از اجزای سیاست خارجی‌اش صلح جهانی و ارزش‌های دموکراتیک را با چالش‌های مهمی مواجه می‌کند. ایالات متحده، ایران را در لیست کشورهای حامی تروریسم قرار داده است و نگرانی ها در مورد اقدامات و نیات رژیم اسلامی ایران گسترده است. تلاش‌های جمهوری اسلامی ایران برای گسترش نفوذ خود در غرب، دموکراسی‌های لیبرال را تضعیف کرده و ثبات منطقه را تهدید می‌کند. ایالات متحده و سایر کشورهای دموکراتیک باید در دفاع از ارزش‌های خود محکم بایستند و اطمینان حاصل کنند که تدابیری برای حفاظت از امنیت و منافع آنها در برابر تهدیدات احتمالی جنبش‌های بنیادگرای اسلامی مورد حمایت جمهوری اسلامی ایران وجود دارد. این موضع برای امنیت ملی و برای حفظ اصول آزادی و دموکراسی در سطح جهانی ضروری است. اتحاد علیه مهره های رژیم اسلامی ایران از کمیته “تعلیم و تربیت و نیروی کار” مجلس نمایندگان آمریکا می خواهد که از رئیس دانشگاه پرینستون، کریستوفر ایسگروبر، بخواهد در مقابل کنگره شهادت دهد. AAIRIA از دانشگاه می‌خواهد که تمام مکاتبات و قراردادهای مربوط به استخدام موسویان را منتشر کند، کمک‌های مالی به برنامه او را افشا کند و جزئیات تمام هزینه‌های سفرهای او به ایران را که از زمان انتصاب او، توسط دانشگاه و یا کسانی که به دانشگاه کمک مالی می کنند، پرداخت شده، منتشر کند. حضور مستمر سید حسین موسویان در پرینستون غیرقابل دفاع است و با معیارهای عدالت و مسئولیت پذیری که پرینستون ادعا می کند به آن اعتقاد دارد، در تضاد است. در دوره‌ای که دانشگاه‌ها، از جمله پرینستون، شاهد افزایش نفوذ اسلام‌گرایان رادیکال و حمایت از سازمان‌های تروریستی خارجی تحت تحریم ایالات متحده هستند، اتخاذ اقدام سریع و قاطع ضروری است. باید اقدامات فوری و قاطع برای تضمین یکپارچگی علمی و جلوگیری از نفوذ ایدئولوژی های رادیکال اسلامی در مؤسسات آموزشی ما صورت گیرد.. اتحاد علیه مهره های رژیم اسلامی ایران بدنبال دفاع از امنیت و صداقت علمی در محیط‌ های دانشگاهی است و تلاش می‌کند که مراکز علمی به جای تبدیل شدن به فضایی برای ایدئولوژی های مخرب و نفوذ نیروهای خارجی، سنگرهای یادگیری و کشف حقیقت باقی بمانند.

Thank you All, and especially thank you, AAIRIA, for organizing this event.  We have gathered here today once more to extend the voice of the people of Iran and stop IRGC from spreading the propaganda of its death machine in the West.  The ayatollahs of the Islamic regime vowed to “export their revolution” since 1979. One of the most effective ways to achieve this was to target the young minds in the West. That is why, in recent years, here in the United States as well as Europe, we have seen the presence of the Islamic regime and its proxies in Academia as well as at the policy-making level, whether it is through organizations such as NIAC or infiltrating influential academic roles such as the one help by Hossein Mousavian.  Mousavian is a professor here at Princeton, one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and a Middle Eastern security and nuclear policy specialist. We all know his role as the Iranian ambassador in Germany in the 90 when the atrocious Mykonos terrorist attack happened, resulting in the death of several people.  It was during the same time that Fereydoun Farrokhzad was murdered in his apartment in Germany following his involvement in producing an opposition radio program and, reportedly, receiving death threats. A murder that had hallmarks of the Iranian government’s operations all over it. Farrokhzad was not only a great Iranian Artist and activist, but as recent evidence has made it clear, he was also a member of the LGBTQ community.  As a Shia theocracy, the Islamic Republic waged war on all minorities, especially those who challenged its gender and sexual apartheid: Iranian women and queer community.  Queer community of Iran is one of the biggest victims of the Islamic regime in Iran. I urge you to look up the second chapter of the Islamic penal code of Iran, Especially codes 234 and 239, where you see same-sex relations in the Islamic Republic will result in inhumane punishments such as lashes and execution. The Islamic Republic is one of the few countries that still carries out executions under this law! This is why from the beginning of the Woman Life Freedom movement Iranian queer community, alongside all groups of Iranians, has demanded our rights to LIFE and FREEDOM. This is why we are appalled that a person like Hossein Mousavian holds such a position in an Ivy League teaching the next educated generation of Americans about the Middle East while sewing the seeds of Islamic Republic propaganda despite the school’s knowledge of his past. It is appalling that a person who loudly and proudly praised Qasem Soleimani, one of IRGC’s major commanders, was responsible for more murders, injuries, and kidnappings of Americans and American allies. Suppose today we see young Americans raising flags of Hizbollah and chanting in favor of the Islamic regime on Ivy League campuses. In that case, it is because of IRGC’s and its proxies infiltration into our Academic system. IRGC is no longer a threat to the People of Iran alone but a global threat.  Mr Eisgruber, this is not the first time you have been made aware of Mr Mousavian’s dark past and his ties to the Islamic Republic. In January 2022, UANI detailed Mousavina’s background in a letter to Princeton University.  Once again, we want to urge Princeton University and Mr. Eisgruber to terminate Mousavian immediately. Omid Iravanipour April 26, 2024

Dear friends, Ladies and gentlemen, Why are we gathered here today, and what do we want? Before I attempt to answer this question, let me briefly mention a few “things” so that it is better understood what we, the Justice Seekers, want: 1- Hojjat al-Islam Sadeq Khalkhali, the president of the Revolutionary Courts, known as the hanging judge, said the following regarding the methods of revolutionary Muslim struggle against dissidents: “One day, I was returning from the Imam Khomeini’s place… We came to the alley of Aman, and I saw two 15- and 16-year-old children secretly exchanging something. I took a Mojahedin newspaper from the boy’s bag, shot him right there, and told my companions that this is how these animals should be dealt with…” (Heftenameh Safar, 2008). This method and character of arbitrariness in killing dissidents have always dominated Iran during the entire period of 45 years of religious rule. 2- Shahriar Shafiq, the first victim of the Islamic Republic’s assassinations abroad, was an officer in the Iranian Navy. He was killed by two bullets in Paris on December 7, 1979. Khalkhali wrote in his memoirs, published in the ‘Islam’ newspaper that Shafiq had been found a ‘corrupter on earth’ and was sentenced to death by the verdict of the Islamic Revolution Court in absentia. 3- Ali Akbar Tabatabai was murdered on July 22, 1980, in Washington, USA. The killer, Davood Salahuddin/David Belfield, now lives in Tehran and is an advisor to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He says: “9 days after Tabatabai’s assassination, I entered Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, and a group of IRGC members welcomed me. They then took me out through the diplomatic hall, put me in a Cadillac, and drove me straight to a meeting with the then-foreign minister, Sadegh Qutbzadeh… It was 3 a.m., and we talked for a while. Then, the IRGC took me to a safe house, gave me a gun, and I was under their constant protection for nine months. Everyone was talking about my revolutionary action. At the end of 1980, I was taken to meet Ayatollah Khomeini at his home in Qom. In this 35-minute meeting, Khomeini told me: ‘The subject of that gentleman in Bethesda’ (Bethesda, Tabatabai’s residence) was for the pride of Islam and Muslims.” 4- On August 6, 1991, Shapour Bakhtiar and his secretary,, Soroush Katibah were murdered in Bakhtiar’s house. After the discovery of the crime, the French Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest and prosecution warrants for nine people, who were then sentenced in court: • Fereydoun Boyerahmadi, agent of the Ministry of Information and Security • Mohammad Azadi, a high-ranking officer of the intelligence unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps • Ali Vakili Rad, agent of the Ministry of Information and Security • Masoud Adeeb Sui, charged with preparing a passport and planning terror • Hossein Sheikh Attar for participating in murder preparations. For ten years, he was the director of the satellites department in the Ministry of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones • Masoud Hendi was charged with preparing visas for murderers and participating in terror preparations. From 1980 to 1984, he was the director of the JAM TV office in Paris. • Zain al-Abidin Sarhadhi, charged with procurement • Nasser Ghaseminejad, charged with procurement • Gholam Hossein Shourideh Shirazi was charged with procurement. 5- On July 13, 1989, Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou and two of his associates were killed during negotiations with agents of the Islamic regime of Iran. Two people were immediately arrested: Mohammad Jafari Sahraroudi and Haj Ghafoor Darjezi, alias Amir Mansour. After the assassination, Mr. Akbar Shirazi, the then ambassador of J.A., began working for their release and threatened the Austrian government. Subsequently, the murderers were released and sent to Tehran, and then an international arrest warrant was issued for them. Upon returning to Iran, Sahraroudi became the head of ceremonies of the Islamic Council, and Haj Ghafoor Darjezi, under the alias Mustafa Modbar, became the head of the Broadcasting Protection Organization of the IRI and manager of Saipa Club. 6- Mykonos Restaurant Assassination in Berlin: Four people were killed. Five people were arrested, and five others escaped. Arrested: • Kazem Darabi, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Information and Security, stated that after returning to Iran, he was offered governorships and ministries but declined and went to Lebanon. • Abbas Rayel and Youssef Amin, members of the Lebanese Hezbollah, were trained for terrorist attacks in Iran for six months in 1984/85. • And two others, one a member of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the other from the Shia Amal organization. • Some people managed to escape, including Abdul Rahman Bani Hashemi, who was the murderer of the Talebi pilot in Switzerland in 1990. After returning to Iran, he received a Mercedes Benz as a reward and shares in the profits of companies covered by Vawak. • An arrest warrant was issued for Ali Fallahian in the Berlin court. 7- Regarding serial murders inside Iran, including the brutal murders of Parvaneh and Dariush Forouhar, as well as Mohammad Mokhtari and Mohammad-Ja’far Pouyandeh: One of the people responsible for these killings, Mehrdad Alikhani, states in his interrogation sheets the names and personal and organizational characteristics, along with nicknames, of all those who participated in the murders, all of whom are employees of the Ministry of Information and Security of IRI. Alikhani says: “Mr. Dari Najafabadi, head of the Ministry of Information and Security of IRI, told me that the security department was not functioning properly… Insiders and non-insiders had turned against the regime… It was agreed that a group of secular individuals would be assassinated within the country. We were under the direct supervision of Mr. Dari Najafabadi, and based on the framework he set, a group of secular political activists were publicly assassinated, and we were to report to him at the end of each operation. During these murders, about 30 people were briefed on these assassinations, 26 of whom were ministers, and 4Continue reading “The Speech of Parviz Dastmalchi”

I feel very grateful for this initiative, and especially for this invitation to be part, to offer my testimony and remind those who listen to us today that behind the reports, the judicial cases, politics, local and international interests, there are people. People like my aunt, Graciela Levinson, and my uncle, Jaime Plaksin, were murdered in the two terrorist attacks that Argentina suffered. There were 29 victims in the first attack in the Israeli Embassy, and 85 in the second, in AMIA. My aunt, Graciela Levinson, was smiling, sociable, and talkative. She was a dedicated mother and wife, a hard-working woman. A mother who dedicated enormous efforts to find a correct diagnosis for one of her daughters, and once she achieved it, and found a treatment, she set out to help other families in similar situation, to build a community. She was the axis that united the family, she organized spontaneous family gatherings, with whatever she found at hand. For me, my aunt Graciela is synonymous of a childhood with music from her guitar, costumes that she organized, games that she invented for all my cousins and great crossword puzzles that she shared only with me, as well as a passion for all word games. On March 17, 1992, Graciela was on the way out of work, at the Israeli Embassy. The explosion hit her completely and it took many days until her body could be rescued from under the rubble. I was pregnant, and expecting my second child. There was a month left until the birth, but that same day the process accelerated and became complicated and the following week doctors had to do a cesarean section. Two years later, on July 18, 1994, the second blow came and my family fell apart once again. This time it was my uncle Jaime, who was also at his workplace, at the headquarters of the Jewish community of Buenos Aires, AMIA, on a Monday morning. Jaime had been director of the AMIA Culture Department for decades. Jaime was a true teacher, in every sense of the word. He taught Jewish history, Kabbalah, Hebrew and had an immense ability to transmit, along with a tireless love for teaching. After his murder we learned of many people he had helped, in silence, without taking any credit. He was a man whose lectures and writings were followed by many people. But I remember him as the guy with the craziest ideas. Funny, unpredictable, the one with the shrill and contagious laughter, that had invented a special greeting for me, just as he invented affectionate nicknames, words and fantastic stories. On July 18, 1994, I was in my third pregnancy and was expecting my daughter. Since I was nearby, I arrived at the AMIA headquarters just a few minutes after the explosion. I walked along Pasteur Street where at that moment there was only a large gap in the ground, in the place were the AMIA building used to be. I remember the glass that fell from the buildings and the smell, that horrendous smell of burnt flesh that remained impregnated in my memory. I remember looking for my uncle Jaime among the living people, who were looking for other people. Suddenly I saw my two cousins get into an ambulance and leave and I looked for a phone. Someone offered me a cell phone and in that call they confirmed that Jaime had died. From that moment on, I no longer remember anything. Black. Some hours were erased from my memory with those strange ways that the human mind finds to react to too much pain. When you experience this firsthand, you also understand what these cruelties do to a family. And, as an example, I always mention what happened with my father, who was the one who remained strong after the attacks. 15 years after the attacks, when my father was sick and dying in a hospital in Israel, he suffered panic attacks every time a nurse raised the railing of his hospital bed and screamed desperately how was he going to get out from under the rubble. When the bomb will explode… And so it happens with each of the families of the victims, with all of us, who today look towards the sinister minds that planned all this cruelty. And we need to find the answers, we need justice, we demand justice. Because from that moment on, the shared happiness died with them, and the shared dreams, vanished into explosives and horror. And they deserve justice, because wherever they are in the universe, or from inside us, only after justice is done our dead loved ones will be able to rest in peace.