FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alliance Against the Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA)
December 13, 2025
The Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) welcomes today’s reporting by the New York Post confirming that the University of Arkansas has removed Dr. Shirin Saeidi from her leadership position at the Middle East Studies Program and launched an internal investigation into Saeidi’s conduct.
This development marks a significant milestone in a months-long campaign led by families of victims of the 1988 Iranian Prison Massacre, survivors of the Islamic Republic of Iran prison system, Iranian dissidents in the diaspora, and concerned Arkansas legislators.
For the first time, a prominent American university is publicly acknowledging the seriousness of evidence showing that a faculty member used their institutional position to:
• defend a convicted war criminal
• praise the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
• parrot antisemitic propaganda disseminated by the Islamic Republic of Iran,
• and most gravely, fabricate interviews with Iranian political prisoners whose actual testimonies are the backbone of historical truth regarding the Iranian regime’s atrocities.
AAIRIA’s independent investigation of Saeidi’s dissertation uncovered patterns of fabrication, misuse of survivor testimony, and unauthorized claims of interviews with former political prisoners, including Maryam Nouri, Monireh Baradaran, Nazli Partovi, and Nasrin Parvaz, all of whom disavowed Saeidi’s claims.
Further, AAIRIA provided documentation showing Saeidi used University of Arkansas letterhead to advocate for the release of Hamid Nouri, convicted in Sweden of war crimes for his role in the 1988 prison massacres.
AAIRIA is proud to have helped bring the truth to light and will continue advocating until:
• The University of Arkansas completes its investigation of Saeidi
• Cambridge University Press and the University of Cambridge retract Saeidi’s published fabrications and address Saeidi’s ethics violations
• and institutional safeguards are strengthened to prevent authoritarian regimes from laundering propaganda through the University of Arkansas.
This is not merely a victory for Iranian dissidents; it is a victory for academic integrity, human rights, and the protection of historical truth.
Media Contact: Lawdan Bazargan at lawdanbazargan@gmail.com
The Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) is a survivor-led organization dedicated to exposing individuals and institutions in the West who normalize, sanitize, or collaborate with the Islamic Republic of Iran and its security apparatus. AAIRIA works to safeguard the truth about Iran’s human rights abuses and to support the voices of survivors and their families.
info@aairia.org
http://www.aairia.org
