Iran lobby in the United States
Encyclopedia
The Iran lobby is used to describe the coalition of organizations that seek and have sought to influence the foreign policy
of the United States
toward the Islamic Republic of Iran.
in 2003 where strong opposition to U.S. policy reigned supreme in the Middle East
. In 2010 the impact the sanctions implored after three years of negotiation attempts between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Western powers indicate that the policy of appeasement with Iran failed and it has been replaced by policy of coercion and isolation. The pro-Tehran campaign was mainly launched during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami
. Its first goal was to hide Khatami's irrelevance and lack of power in Iranian politics, and to represent the “reform government” as an irreversible trend which the U.S. should accommodate and get along with.
is the founder and president of the National Iranian American Council
and an expert on U.S.-Iranian relations, Iranian politics, and the balance of power in the Middle East. He is also the author of “Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States”. According to his personal Curriculum Vita, Parsi “established the first lobby group in the U.S. to support the normalization of ties between Iran and the U.S.” and lobbied “U.S. Congress, EU and Swedish Parliaments” on behalf of Iranians for International Cooperation (IIC), a former Iran lobbying organization where Parsi once was president. Parsi also leads a coalition of approximately twenty organizations that suggest U.S. government engagement with Iran.
In 1999, Trita Parsi who was living in Sweden
, together with Siamak Namazi
from Tehran
, elaborated a seminal paper and discussed the way to create an "Iranian American lobby in U.S." They wrote: "This lobby is needed in order to create a balance between the competing Middle Eastern lobbies. Without it, Iran-bashing may become popular in Congress again." They went into details about the functioning of the AIPAC (the Israeli lobby) and argued that the Iranian lobby should follow the same path.
Treacherous Alliance, Parsi’s book, claims that Israel has tried to prevent a formation of an alliance between the U.S. and Iran since 1992. According to Parsi the Israeli lobby is influential, powerful and in total control of U.S. foreign policy toward Iran; Parsi furthers this message by claiming that the Israeli desire to isolate Iran, has been transferred to the U.S. policy toward Iran. In 2007 Parsi and his partners claimed that "the U.S. has refused to start a dialogue with Iran for the past 26 years." Contrary to Parsi's 2007 claim, is Parsi's 2000 declaration of praise to the United States Secretary of State
’s actions to open dialogue between the U.S. and Iran, in a statement titled “IIC welcome’s U.S.’s olive branch” he wrote: “Secretary Albright's speech at the Asia Society is the first indication of a genuine willingness from the U.S. Administration to improve ties with the Iranian government… the Iranian Government should seize this opportunity to speed up the slow train of dialogue.” In a second statement titled “Ball in Iran's court: Will Iran grasp the opening offered by the U.S.?”
On December 28, 2006 the governmental newspaper Aftab
in Iran published an interview with Trita Parsi. In his introduction, the editor underlined the role of Iranian American lobby on the behalf of the Iranian regime and described it as the Mullah
s' "unofficial diplomacy."
In response to U.S. sanctions, a 2007 report from Parsi to Tehran explained the background on the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran (CNAPI) coalition and proposed the idea that the coalition should transition into an anti-sanction lobby. The report entitled “lobby groups” explains the first years of CNAPI’s activities:
Mr. Parsi has boasted in an interview with Eli Lake
of the Washington Times of his connections to the political elite of Washington DC. Lake wrote, "Mr. Parsi's history suggests a continuing commitment to changing U.S. policy on Iran, and he has clearly become more influential in Washington DC since the change of administrations." He goes on further to demonstrate his connectivity by stating in internal e-mails that he learned of Mr. Obama's speech to Iranians on the occasion of the Persian New Year in March (Nowruz
address) several hours before it was posted on the Internet. Lake also noted that Trita Parsi has given lectures at the CIA, visited one-on-one with the Secretary of State and has made calls to the White House
regarding Iran.
Recently, Mohsen Makhmalbaf
, unofficial spokesman for Iran's opposition Green Movement and acclaimed Iranian filmmaker reported to the Washington Times that "Trita Parsi does not belong to the Green Movement...his lobbying has secretly been more for the Islamic Republic."
database, there are no registered lobbying firms for the Islamic Republic, and only one individual representing Iran in the United States at the United Nations.
Sadegh Kharazi
, the former Islamic Republic of Iran deputy foreign minister, who lived in the U.S. between 1989 until 1996, designed the structure of the Iran lobby in the Western world. In an interview with Shargh
newspaper on May 28, 2006, he talked about the Iranian regime's means of countering U.S. policies and also ways to counter the Israeli lobby in the U.S..20 He openly admitted that there is an Iranian lobby in the U.S., and emphasized that this lobby should remain disconnected from the government of Iran; however, "the government should support it, promote it and then can rely on it." Kharazzi stated. In conjunction with Titra Parsi, Kharazi helped create a U.S. oriented lobby group in Sweden, Iranians for International Cooperation (IIC), whose main objective was “the removal of U.S. economic and political sanctions against Iran, and the commencement of an Iran-U.S. dialogue.”
The structure of the Iran lobby can be divided into two distinct but related groups that impact U.S. policy toward the Government of Iran. The first is the regime's lobby present in media, think-tanks and other various organizations. These organization's activities are focused on government policy and the U.S. Congress. The second group operates in conjunction with U.S. business interests, particularly with the oil industry. These organizations aim at the Iranian market and fear that firm policies toward the Islamic regime will harm Iranian global interests.
Several organizations non-profit and 501(c)(3) educational organizations lobby and advocate decision makers in the interest of the Iranian people and the Iranian regime. There is no denying that American policy toward Iran has been impacted directly by these organizations. These organizations include but are not limited to: the National Iranian American Council
(NIAC), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Campaign against Sanction and Military intervention in Iran (CASMII), the Center for a New American Security
(CNAS), the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran (CNAPI), the American Foreign Policy Project, and other organizations and individuals including well-known American diplomats, congressional representatives, figures from various fields of academia and think tanks.
, Babak Talebi, and Farzin Illich as a 501(c)(3) non-profit education organization with the express mission to promote Iranian-American civic participation.” The NIAC makes it well known that it has no affiliation with the U.S. government or the Islamic regime in Iran. The NIAC FAQs further explain that “Trita Parsi continues to work for NIAC as President.” Parsi is the president of National Iranian American Council (NIAC) labeled by pro-governmental press in Tehran as “the Iranian lobby in Washington” Adding to the credibility of the NIAC, the advisory board members consist of former Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering
, and John Limbert
, a former U.S. hostage in Iran.
In November 2009, the NIAC came under scrutiny when Washington Times national security correspondent Eli Lake alleged that the organization, registered as a 501(c)(3) educational organization, could be "operating as a advocacy group in violation of federal law". During the George W. Bush
administration, NIAC argued against U.S. funding of activities to promote democracy in Iran, arguing that it would hurt the opposition by tainting them as U.S. tools.
Hassan Daioleslam, an Iranian analyst, published a report about the "Iran's Oil Mafia, Penetrating U.S. Congress" published by FrontPage magazine, speaking to the influence of the NIAC, who was also an advisor to the convicted Congressman Bob Ney. Immediately after the article was published, in a very organized manner, the Iranian governmental newspapers came to NIAC's rescue and wrote that "the Neocons and the Israeli lobby are attacking the Iranian lobby".
Although the NIAC's goal is to empower Iranian Americans to participate in civic life, they have been very focused on U.S. policy toward the Iranian regime in their policies and activities. Parsi wrote in his last article that "the U.S. and Iran [can] share the Middle East...Current facts on the ground are quite different -- Iran's regional influence is unquestionable and rolling Iran back out of Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, and perhaps even Gaza may no longer be realistic...sooner or later, Iran and the U.S. must learn how to share the region.”
In an interview with Hassan Daioleslam in FrontPage magazine about the NIAC, Daioleslam stated that “the first step to render the Iranian prestige to its people, at least in the U.S., is voicing the fact that this regime does not represent the Iranian nation. NIAC does the opposite. In fact they have bent backward to present data that the Iranian people support these barbaric rulers. This is not empowering the Iranian Americans.”
CNAPI is the the main pro-engagement organization that has lobbied for friendlier policy with the Islamic Republic. The NIAC has openly been coordinating with CNAPI and other coalitions to create a consolidated front for Iranian policy. CNAPI’s official partners include more than three dozen organizations, among them CASMII, CAIR, the Episcopal Church, NIAC, and the Open Society Policy Center. The list of CNAPI leading experts is likewise an interesting one that includes: Amb. James Dobbins, Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation and a retired career State Department diplomat; Lt. Gen. Robert Gard
, the Senior Military Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation; Phil Giraldi, former CIA counterterrorism specialist; the writer Stephen Kinzer
; Ambassador
William Miller
, Senior Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
; Ambassador Thomas Pickering
and of course, Trita Parsi.
AFPP’s experts list reads like a remix from other Iran lobby entities and includes: Ambassadors James Dobbins, William Miller
, and Thomas Pickering
; Professors Gary G. Sick and Juan R. Cole, Philip Giraldi
, Stephen Kinzer
, Trita Parsi
, and James Walsh
.
AFPP compiled a plan of advice for the incoming administration in 2008 urging Obama to “deal successfully with Iran in the future”. AFPP's “five-step strategy” urges the United States to abandon regime change in Tehran, to acknowledge Iran’s bid for hegemony in the region, and re-engage in the Arab-Israeli “peace process.”
, an adjunct professor at Sharif University in Tehran connected to the inner circle of the Iranian regime and a group of “Iranian and non-Iranian academics, students and professionals of different political and ideological persuasions” at a meeting in London
in December 2005. CASMII describes itself as a campaign organization whose purpose is to oppose all forms of international pressure on Iran and identifies lobbying and public advocacy as its chosen means to disseminate its views, and has a policy to defend the Iranian regime's nuclear ambitions as peaceful.
Half of the founding board members of CASMII came from Trita Parsi's circle and NIAC. Including Alexander Patico, a founder of NIAC, a member of its board of directors until 2008 and currently a member of its advisory board, serves on CASMII’s board of directors. Daniel Pourkesali is also a member of the CASMII International Steering Committee and is also an active member of NIAC.
CASMII, among other public relations activities, regularly organizes trips for political groups in the U.S. to visit Iran.
In 2007, the AIC helped to arrange a meeting between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and U.S. academics, business leaders and members of the media. The difficulties and problems in the ongoing relationship between the two countries was the primary topic of the discussion.
In 2003, the AIC helped Iran initiate an offer to the United States, known as the "Grand Bargain". Before invading Iraq, the Bush administration rebuffed a series of overtures from Iran's reformist government -- among them offers to help the United States stabilize Iraq after the invasion -- which culminated in a secret proposal for a grand bargain resolving all outstanding issues between the United States and Iran, including Iran's alleged support for terrorism and the development of its nuclear program. The United States, which had branded Iran part of the "axis of evil," decided on a confrontational approach. (See PBS Frontline Documentary showing on October 23, 2007.)
The AIC has a prominent board which includes many of the top academics, diplomats, and business leaders. AIC's honorary board includes secretary Donna Shalala, and its Board of Directors is composed of, Thomas Pickering, former Senator J Bennet Johnson, former Vice-Chairman of Chevron Richard Matzke, Dr. Fereidun Feksharaki President of FACTS, and Professor Hooshang Amirahmadi of Rutgers University, Ambassador Sargent Shriver, R.K. Ramazani, Ambassador Robert H. Pelletreau, Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Judith Kipper, Roy Mottahedeh.
In September 2008, CNAS produced a report intended specifically for the next U.S. administration entitled “Iran: Assessing U.S. Strategic Options.” The report boasts a clutch of Iran and U.S. foreign affairs experts among its authors: James N. Miller, Christine Parthemore, Kurt M. Campbell
, Dennis Ross
, Suzanne Maloney, Ashton B. Carter, Vali Nasr
, and Richard N. Haas.
Among the policy experts tapped to contribute to the CNAS Iran report are names notable as much for their linkages to other individuals and groups affiliated with the Iran lobby as for their policy recommendations seeking dialogue with Tehran.
It is difficult to believe that only in Boston
, three of Iranian former deputy foreign ministers have been recruited by the most prestigious universities: M. J. Mahallati, Farhad Atai, both academicians as well as board member of ILEX foundation in Boston. Then there is Abbas Maleki, deputy foreign minister of Iran for eight years who was also an advisor to the Supreme Leader
until he started his U.S. career at Harvard University
.
Amazingly, Maleki does not hide his intentions. In his recent visit to Tehran, he gave several speeches and outlined the way of countering U.S. control in the Middle East. In the clearest ways, he talked about the campaign of misinformation that seeks to influence American public opinion.
The major consolidated objective of the Iran lobby is to weaken U.S. support for Israel. A large-scale campaign against Israeli support has another side handled by the Iran lobby. That is to exonerate Iran from major responsibility in regional problems, in hostility with Israel, in the spread of fundamentalist terrorism in the Islamic world, and in destabilizing the entire Middle East. Specifically, Parsi’s writings defend the Iranian regime in a whole range of issues, specially its actions against Israel.
Titra Parsi centers his writings on the premise that the Iranian regime seeks its legitimate place in the region and could coexist peacefully with the U.S. therefore, Iran does not pose a threat to any nation or country. Parsi states throughout various writings that Iran has made goodwill gestures towards U.S. but has never been compensated for its friendly acts.
Additionally, the lobby generally advocates permitting the Iranian nuclear program's progression with no serious consequences from the United States, while advocating for an “evenhanded” policy that would ban all nuclear weapons in the Middle East; many prominent think tanks and Middle East experts have been lining up to this policy.
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
toward the Islamic Republic of Iran.
History
Within the Islamic Republic of Iran exists an official agency called 'The Supreme Council for Iranians Living Abroad'. This agency was formed at the highest levels of the Iranian regime at some point in the early part of the decade with the specific objective of “establishing specialized groups and non-governmental bodies among Iranians living abroad.” The rise of the Iran lobby began shortly after the invasion of IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 2003 where strong opposition to U.S. policy reigned supreme in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. In 2010 the impact the sanctions implored after three years of negotiation attempts between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Western powers indicate that the policy of appeasement with Iran failed and it has been replaced by policy of coercion and isolation. The pro-Tehran campaign was mainly launched during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
. Its first goal was to hide Khatami's irrelevance and lack of power in Iranian politics, and to represent the “reform government” as an irreversible trend which the U.S. should accommodate and get along with.
Trita Parsi
Trita ParsiTrita Parsi
Trita Parsi is the current president and founder of the National Iranian American Council, and author of the 2007 book, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States.-Biography:...
is the founder and president of the National Iranian American Council
National Iranian American Council
The National Iranian American Council is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization "dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community." Trita Parsi is the organization's current president and founder.-Formation:...
and an expert on U.S.-Iranian relations, Iranian politics, and the balance of power in the Middle East. He is also the author of “Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States”. According to his personal Curriculum Vita, Parsi “established the first lobby group in the U.S. to support the normalization of ties between Iran and the U.S.” and lobbied “U.S. Congress, EU and Swedish Parliaments” on behalf of Iranians for International Cooperation (IIC), a former Iran lobbying organization where Parsi once was president. Parsi also leads a coalition of approximately twenty organizations that suggest U.S. government engagement with Iran.
In 1999, Trita Parsi who was living in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, together with Siamak Namazi
Siamak Namazi
Siamak Namazi , an Iranian-American business consultant. He is now the managing director of Atieh Bahar Consulting, a Tehran-based firm that advises foreign investors....
from Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, elaborated a seminal paper and discussed the way to create an "Iranian American lobby in U.S." They wrote: "This lobby is needed in order to create a balance between the competing Middle Eastern lobbies. Without it, Iran-bashing may become popular in Congress again." They went into details about the functioning of the AIPAC (the Israeli lobby) and argued that the Iranian lobby should follow the same path.
Treacherous Alliance, Parsi’s book, claims that Israel has tried to prevent a formation of an alliance between the U.S. and Iran since 1992. According to Parsi the Israeli lobby is influential, powerful and in total control of U.S. foreign policy toward Iran; Parsi furthers this message by claiming that the Israeli desire to isolate Iran, has been transferred to the U.S. policy toward Iran. In 2007 Parsi and his partners claimed that "the U.S. has refused to start a dialogue with Iran for the past 26 years." Contrary to Parsi's 2007 claim, is Parsi's 2000 declaration of praise to the United States Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
’s actions to open dialogue between the U.S. and Iran, in a statement titled “IIC welcome’s U.S.’s olive branch” he wrote: “Secretary Albright's speech at the Asia Society is the first indication of a genuine willingness from the U.S. Administration to improve ties with the Iranian government… the Iranian Government should seize this opportunity to speed up the slow train of dialogue.” In a second statement titled “Ball in Iran's court: Will Iran grasp the opening offered by the U.S.?”
On December 28, 2006 the governmental newspaper Aftab
Aftab
Aftab is a surname and a masculine given name.-People with this family name:* Sikandar Aftab , South Asian film actor* Parry Aftab , American lawyer-People with this given name:*Aftab Ahmad Sherpao...
in Iran published an interview with Trita Parsi. In his introduction, the editor underlined the role of Iranian American lobby on the behalf of the Iranian regime and described it as the Mullah
Mullah
Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...
s' "unofficial diplomacy."
In response to U.S. sanctions, a 2007 report from Parsi to Tehran explained the background on the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran (CNAPI) coalition and proposed the idea that the coalition should transition into an anti-sanction lobby. The report entitled “lobby groups” explains the first years of CNAPI’s activities:
- “As of early 2005, Washington’s heated rhetoric over Iran has attracted the attention of a variety of interest groups eager to prevent the escalation of tensions in the Middle East and the prospects of a war between the U.S. and Iran. These groups have managed to build unprecedented support in Congress in favor of dialogue and against military action among progressive Democrats as well as conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill. This coalition of pro-dialogue and anti-war entities consists of a diverse group of organizations ranging from arms control organizations, to Iranian American organizations, to religious groups. Key players in this coalition are the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, which coordinates a coalition of approximately 50 organizations, MoveOn and the National Iranian American Council. While these groups have focused extensively on passing measures to reduce the risk for war with Iran, little attention has been paid to efforts to intensify sanctions against Iran. Furthermore, while a momentum exists for anti-war measures, no comparable opportunity exists currently for an anti-sanctions campaign. Nor is the coalition of disarmament, religious and progressive groups best suited to take on this issue. Here, the absence of pro-business interests on Capitol Hill active constitutes a key point of advantage for AIPAC.”
Mr. Parsi has boasted in an interview with Eli Lake
Eli Lake
Eli Lake , is a national security correspondent for the Washington Times and a frequent contributor to the Bloggingheads.tv. He was previously a national security reporter at the New York Sun and the State Department correspondent for the UPI...
of the Washington Times of his connections to the political elite of Washington DC. Lake wrote, "Mr. Parsi's history suggests a continuing commitment to changing U.S. policy on Iran, and he has clearly become more influential in Washington DC since the change of administrations." He goes on further to demonstrate his connectivity by stating in internal e-mails that he learned of Mr. Obama's speech to Iranians on the occasion of the Persian New Year in March (Nowruz
Nowruz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
address) several hours before it was posted on the Internet. Lake also noted that Trita Parsi has given lectures at the CIA, visited one-on-one with the Secretary of State and has made calls to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
regarding Iran.
Recently, Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Mohsen Makhmalbaf is an Iranian film director, writer, editor, and producer. During 2007 he was the president of Asian Film Academy.Makhmalbaf's films have been widely presented in international film festivals in the past ten years. The multi-award-winning director, belongs to the new wave...
, unofficial spokesman for Iran's opposition Green Movement and acclaimed Iranian filmmaker reported to the Washington Times that "Trita Parsi does not belong to the Green Movement...his lobbying has secretly been more for the Islamic Republic."
Structure
The Iran lobby consists of a complex network of individuals and organizations with ties to the clerical regime in Tehran that is pressing forward in seeming synchrony to influence the new U.S. administration’s policy towards the Islamic Republic of Iran. The structure of the Iran lobby within the United States is informal and indirect, as lobbying for the Islamic Republic to the government of the United States is illegal. According the the Congressional Lobby register, and the Foreign Agents Registration ActForeign Agents Registration Act
The Foreign Agents Registration Act is a United States law passed in 1938 requiring that agents representing the interests of foreign powers be properly identified to the American public. The act was passed in response to German propaganda in the lead-up to World War II...
database, there are no registered lobbying firms for the Islamic Republic, and only one individual representing Iran in the United States at the United Nations.
Sadegh Kharazi
Sadegh Kharazi
Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Kharazi is an Iranian diplomat who has served twice as Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister.He started his career in the government in 1983 during the Iran–Iraq War as a member of the Supreme Defense Council of Iran and the IRIB. He is Iran's former ambassador to the UN , and France...
, the former Islamic Republic of Iran deputy foreign minister, who lived in the U.S. between 1989 until 1996, designed the structure of the Iran lobby in the Western world. In an interview with Shargh
Shargh
Shargh is the most popular reformist newspaper in Iran. It is managed by Mehdi Rahmanian, and its chief editor was Mohammad Ghouchani in its first period of publication...
newspaper on May 28, 2006, he talked about the Iranian regime's means of countering U.S. policies and also ways to counter the Israeli lobby in the U.S..20 He openly admitted that there is an Iranian lobby in the U.S., and emphasized that this lobby should remain disconnected from the government of Iran; however, "the government should support it, promote it and then can rely on it." Kharazzi stated. In conjunction with Titra Parsi, Kharazi helped create a U.S. oriented lobby group in Sweden, Iranians for International Cooperation (IIC), whose main objective was “the removal of U.S. economic and political sanctions against Iran, and the commencement of an Iran-U.S. dialogue.”
The structure of the Iran lobby can be divided into two distinct but related groups that impact U.S. policy toward the Government of Iran. The first is the regime's lobby present in media, think-tanks and other various organizations. These organization's activities are focused on government policy and the U.S. Congress. The second group operates in conjunction with U.S. business interests, particularly with the oil industry. These organizations aim at the Iranian market and fear that firm policies toward the Islamic regime will harm Iranian global interests.
Several organizations non-profit and 501(c)(3) educational organizations lobby and advocate decision makers in the interest of the Iranian people and the Iranian regime. There is no denying that American policy toward Iran has been impacted directly by these organizations. These organizations include but are not limited to: the National Iranian American Council
National Iranian American Council
The National Iranian American Council is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization "dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community." Trita Parsi is the organization's current president and founder.-Formation:...
(NIAC), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Campaign against Sanction and Military intervention in Iran (CASMII), the Center for a New American Security
Center for a New American Security
The Center for a New American Security is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank established in 2007 by co-founders Michèle Flournoy and Kurt M. Campbell which specializes in U.S. national security issues...
(CNAS), the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran (CNAPI), the American Foreign Policy Project, and other organizations and individuals including well-known American diplomats, congressional representatives, figures from various fields of academia and think tanks.
National Iranian American Council
The most prominent organization representing Iranian interests in the United States is the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). The NIAC is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization "dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community." According the the NIAC website it was “founded in early 2002 by Alex Patico, Trita ParsiTrita Parsi
Trita Parsi is the current president and founder of the National Iranian American Council, and author of the 2007 book, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States.-Biography:...
, Babak Talebi, and Farzin Illich as a 501(c)(3) non-profit education organization with the express mission to promote Iranian-American civic participation.” The NIAC makes it well known that it has no affiliation with the U.S. government or the Islamic regime in Iran. The NIAC FAQs further explain that “Trita Parsi continues to work for NIAC as President.” Parsi is the president of National Iranian American Council (NIAC) labeled by pro-governmental press in Tehran as “the Iranian lobby in Washington” Adding to the credibility of the NIAC, the advisory board members consist of former Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering
Thomas Pickering
Thomas Pickering may refer to:*Thomas Pickering , English religious leader*Thomas R. Pickering , American diplomat -- UN AmbassadorSee also*Timothy Pickering , American diplomat -- Secretary of State...
, and John Limbert
John Limbert
Ambassador John W. Limbert is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. He is a veteran U.S. diplomat and a former official at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, where he was held captive during the Iran hostage...
, a former U.S. hostage in Iran.
In November 2009, the NIAC came under scrutiny when Washington Times national security correspondent Eli Lake alleged that the organization, registered as a 501(c)(3) educational organization, could be "operating as a advocacy group in violation of federal law". During the George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration, NIAC argued against U.S. funding of activities to promote democracy in Iran, arguing that it would hurt the opposition by tainting them as U.S. tools.
Hassan Daioleslam, an Iranian analyst, published a report about the "Iran's Oil Mafia, Penetrating U.S. Congress" published by FrontPage magazine, speaking to the influence of the NIAC, who was also an advisor to the convicted Congressman Bob Ney. Immediately after the article was published, in a very organized manner, the Iranian governmental newspapers came to NIAC's rescue and wrote that "the Neocons and the Israeli lobby are attacking the Iranian lobby".
Although the NIAC's goal is to empower Iranian Americans to participate in civic life, they have been very focused on U.S. policy toward the Iranian regime in their policies and activities. Parsi wrote in his last article that "the U.S. and Iran [can] share the Middle East...Current facts on the ground are quite different -- Iran's regional influence is unquestionable and rolling Iran back out of Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, and perhaps even Gaza may no longer be realistic...sooner or later, Iran and the U.S. must learn how to share the region.”
In an interview with Hassan Daioleslam in FrontPage magazine about the NIAC, Daioleslam stated that “the first step to render the Iranian prestige to its people, at least in the U.S., is voicing the fact that this regime does not represent the Iranian nation. NIAC does the opposite. In fact they have bent backward to present data that the Iranian people support these barbaric rulers. This is not empowering the Iranian Americans.”
Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran
In the many organizations in the United States interested in U.S. policy toward Iran, a new entrant in this lobby is the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran (CNAPI). The CNAPI bills itself as:- “a transpartisan coalition of diverse groups which share the objective of promoting responsible and effective U.S. diplomacy and leadership in resolving long-standing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Campaign supporters share the basic core beliefs outlined in the mission statement and urge direct, sustained, and comprehensive talks without preconditions between the governments of the United States and Iran as a realistic way to resolve all outstanding issues… Supporters of CNAPI believe sustained, direct, bilateral, and comprehensive talks without preconditions between the governments of the United States and Iran represent a realistic way to resolve long-standing conflicts that destabilize the Middle East and by extension, threaten the global economy.”
CNAPI is the the main pro-engagement organization that has lobbied for friendlier policy with the Islamic Republic. The NIAC has openly been coordinating with CNAPI and other coalitions to create a consolidated front for Iranian policy. CNAPI’s official partners include more than three dozen organizations, among them CASMII, CAIR, the Episcopal Church, NIAC, and the Open Society Policy Center. The list of CNAPI leading experts is likewise an interesting one that includes: Amb. James Dobbins, Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation and a retired career State Department diplomat; Lt. Gen. Robert Gard
Robert Gard
Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr. is the Senior Military Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where his work focuses on nuclear nonproliferation, missile defense, Iraq, Iran, military policy, nuclear terrorism, and other national security issues.-History:Gard was...
, the Senior Military Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation; Phil Giraldi, former CIA counterterrorism specialist; the writer Stephen Kinzer
Stephen Kinzer
Stephen Kinzer is a United States author and newspaper reporter. He is a veteran New York Times correspondent who has reported from more than fifty countries on five continents. During the 1980s he covered revolution and social upheaval in Central America...
; Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
William Miller
William Miller
-United States government:* William Miller , North Carolina governor, 1814–1817* William S. Miller , US congressman from New York* William Read Miller , governor of Arkansas...
, Senior Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
; Ambassador Thomas Pickering
Thomas Pickering
Thomas Pickering may refer to:*Thomas Pickering , English religious leader*Thomas R. Pickering , American diplomat -- UN AmbassadorSee also*Timothy Pickering , American diplomat -- Secretary of State...
and of course, Trita Parsi.
American Foreign Policy Project
Close to indistinguishable from CNAPI in purpose and some membership names is the American Foreign Policy Project (AFPP) which launched on November 18, 2008 with the issuance of a “Joint Experts’ Statement on Iran” at a Capitol Hill panel presentation held in the Senate Hart Office Building. The event was moderated by NIAC’s Trita Parsi.AFPP’s experts list reads like a remix from other Iran lobby entities and includes: Ambassadors James Dobbins, William Miller
William Miller
-United States government:* William Miller , North Carolina governor, 1814–1817* William S. Miller , US congressman from New York* William Read Miller , governor of Arkansas...
, and Thomas Pickering
Thomas Pickering
Thomas Pickering may refer to:*Thomas Pickering , English religious leader*Thomas R. Pickering , American diplomat -- UN AmbassadorSee also*Timothy Pickering , American diplomat -- Secretary of State...
; Professors Gary G. Sick and Juan R. Cole, Philip Giraldi
Philip Giraldi
Philip Giraldi is a former counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and a columnist and television commentator who is the Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a group that advocates for more even handed...
, Stephen Kinzer
Stephen Kinzer
Stephen Kinzer is a United States author and newspaper reporter. He is a veteran New York Times correspondent who has reported from more than fifty countries on five continents. During the 1980s he covered revolution and social upheaval in Central America...
, Trita Parsi
Trita Parsi
Trita Parsi is the current president and founder of the National Iranian American Council, and author of the 2007 book, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States.-Biography:...
, and James Walsh
James Walsh
James Walsh may refer to:*James Morrow Walsh , NWMP officer and first commissioner of Yukon Territory*James J. Walsh , American politician, U.S...
.
AFPP compiled a plan of advice for the incoming administration in 2008 urging Obama to “deal successfully with Iran in the future”. AFPP's “five-step strategy” urges the United States to abandon regime change in Tehran, to acknowledge Iran’s bid for hegemony in the region, and re-engage in the Arab-Israeli “peace process.”
Campaign Against Sanction and Military Intervention in Iran
The Campaign Against Sanction and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) was founded by Abbas EdalatAbbas Edalat
Abbas Edalat is a professor of computer science and mathematics at Imperial College of London and a political activist. He is also the founder of CASMII, a campaign against sanctions and military intervention in Iran....
, an adjunct professor at Sharif University in Tehran connected to the inner circle of the Iranian regime and a group of “Iranian and non-Iranian academics, students and professionals of different political and ideological persuasions” at a meeting in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in December 2005. CASMII describes itself as a campaign organization whose purpose is to oppose all forms of international pressure on Iran and identifies lobbying and public advocacy as its chosen means to disseminate its views, and has a policy to defend the Iranian regime's nuclear ambitions as peaceful.
Half of the founding board members of CASMII came from Trita Parsi's circle and NIAC. Including Alexander Patico, a founder of NIAC, a member of its board of directors until 2008 and currently a member of its advisory board, serves on CASMII’s board of directors. Daniel Pourkesali is also a member of the CASMII International Steering Committee and is also an active member of NIAC.
CASMII, among other public relations activities, regularly organizes trips for political groups in the U.S. to visit Iran.
American-Iranian Council
The American-Iranian Council (AIC) was formed in 1997 as a bi-partisan think tank focused upon promoting better relations between the United States and Iran. Former United States Secretary of State Cyrus Vance was the original honorary Chair of the organization. The AIC is an academic research and education organization that is focused upon improving the dialogue between two countries that often fail to take into account misperceptions, misunderstandings, and mischaracterizations. The AIC seeks to help policy makers as well as concerned citizens become better aware of the interests in common to both countries. The AIC was granted permission by the U.S. government to open an office in Iran.In 2007, the AIC helped to arrange a meeting between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and U.S. academics, business leaders and members of the media. The difficulties and problems in the ongoing relationship between the two countries was the primary topic of the discussion.
In 2003, the AIC helped Iran initiate an offer to the United States, known as the "Grand Bargain". Before invading Iraq, the Bush administration rebuffed a series of overtures from Iran's reformist government -- among them offers to help the United States stabilize Iraq after the invasion -- which culminated in a secret proposal for a grand bargain resolving all outstanding issues between the United States and Iran, including Iran's alleged support for terrorism and the development of its nuclear program. The United States, which had branded Iran part of the "axis of evil," decided on a confrontational approach. (See PBS Frontline Documentary showing on October 23, 2007.)
The AIC has a prominent board which includes many of the top academics, diplomats, and business leaders. AIC's honorary board includes secretary Donna Shalala, and its Board of Directors is composed of, Thomas Pickering, former Senator J Bennet Johnson, former Vice-Chairman of Chevron Richard Matzke, Dr. Fereidun Feksharaki President of FACTS, and Professor Hooshang Amirahmadi of Rutgers University, Ambassador Sargent Shriver, R.K. Ramazani, Ambassador Robert H. Pelletreau, Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Judith Kipper, Roy Mottahedeh.
Center for a New American Security
A relatively new organization on the Washington think-tank scene that has weighed in with policy recommendations on Iran for the Obama administration is the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), established in February 2007.In September 2008, CNAS produced a report intended specifically for the next U.S. administration entitled “Iran: Assessing U.S. Strategic Options.” The report boasts a clutch of Iran and U.S. foreign affairs experts among its authors: James N. Miller, Christine Parthemore, Kurt M. Campbell
Kurt M. Campbell
Kurt M. Campbell is an American diplomat and academic, currently serving as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.He was previously the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the Center for a New American Security , a national security think tank launched in January 2007...
, Dennis Ross
Dennis Ross
Dennis B. Ross is an American diplomat and author. He has served as the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department under President George H. W...
, Suzanne Maloney, Ashton B. Carter, Vali Nasr
Vali Nasr
Vali Nasr is a leading expert on Middle East and Islamic world, a best-selling author, influential commentator and Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings Institution, and a columnist for...
, and Richard N. Haas.
Among the policy experts tapped to contribute to the CNAS Iran report are names notable as much for their linkages to other individuals and groups affiliated with the Iran lobby as for their policy recommendations seeking dialogue with Tehran.
Various Think Tanks and Educational Institutions
American think tanks and academic circles provide a unique opportunity for Iranian officials to be recycled as scholars. Iranian regime influence is present within various American think tanks and academic centers.It is difficult to believe that only in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, three of Iranian former deputy foreign ministers have been recruited by the most prestigious universities: M. J. Mahallati, Farhad Atai, both academicians as well as board member of ILEX foundation in Boston. Then there is Abbas Maleki, deputy foreign minister of Iran for eight years who was also an advisor to the Supreme Leader
Supreme leader
A supreme leader typically refers to a figure in the highest leadership position of an entity, group, organization, or state, who exercises strong or all-powerful authority over it. In religion, the supreme leader or supreme leaders is God or Gods...
until he started his U.S. career at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Amazingly, Maleki does not hide his intentions. In his recent visit to Tehran, he gave several speeches and outlined the way of countering U.S. control in the Middle East. In the clearest ways, he talked about the campaign of misinformation that seeks to influence American public opinion.
Means and Ends of Influence
There is a difference between those who genuinely believe in a friendship with the Iranian regime and those who intentionally and systematically manipulate U.S. public opinion and the decision making system. However, their goals are the same, that no harsh U.S. policy ever be adopted against the Iranian regime. Note that the latter uses deceptive means to hide the Iranian regime's weaknesses, to misrepresent the Mullahs' motives and to intentionally ignore the Iranian threat to world security and to U.S. national interests to achieve their goals.The major consolidated objective of the Iran lobby is to weaken U.S. support for Israel. A large-scale campaign against Israeli support has another side handled by the Iran lobby. That is to exonerate Iran from major responsibility in regional problems, in hostility with Israel, in the spread of fundamentalist terrorism in the Islamic world, and in destabilizing the entire Middle East. Specifically, Parsi’s writings defend the Iranian regime in a whole range of issues, specially its actions against Israel.
Titra Parsi centers his writings on the premise that the Iranian regime seeks its legitimate place in the region and could coexist peacefully with the U.S. therefore, Iran does not pose a threat to any nation or country. Parsi states throughout various writings that Iran has made goodwill gestures towards U.S. but has never been compensated for its friendly acts.
Additionally, the lobby generally advocates permitting the Iranian nuclear program's progression with no serious consequences from the United States, while advocating for an “evenhanded” policy that would ban all nuclear weapons in the Middle East; many prominent think tanks and Middle East experts have been lining up to this policy.
External links
- The Iran Lobby
- Involvement in U.S. sanctions on arms sales to Iran
- The Future of the Iran Lobby
- Iran's “Plainclothes” Agent in Washington