The war on NIAC escalates, Trita Parsi discusses lobbying accusations and targeting by Israeli firm

June 6, 2018

News Blog by Independent Aggregator of Iran-related News/Events, Kodoom.com:
Since its inception in 2002, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is perhaps the most active and most controversial Iranian American advocacy organization, accused of having connections with the Iranian government by many Kingdom (shah or former Pahlavi dynasty) loyalists, Trump supporters, and exiled militant leftist Iranian groups such as MKO (Mujahedin Khalgh Organization).

Staff, volunteers and attendees in NIAC's conference

Around the same time President Trump made a decision to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear agreement, and following initial reports in The Guardian and The New Yorker, NIAC reported it was targeted by "operatives of Black Cube – a private Israeli Intelligence firm that conducted dirty ops against former Obama Administration officials - as part of a campaign to discredit and silence supporters of diplomacy with Iran. What makes the matter even worse is that Black Cube was allegedly hired by the Trump Administration. ... While they are targeting pro-peace voices within the Iranian-American community, there is also an effort to elevate the voices for war. The revelation about Black Cube came on the same day as the MEK [MKO] terrorist organization hosted its first conference in Washington, DC in 12 years, featuring Trump lawyer and confidante Rudy Giuliani as its keynote speaker."

NIAC is not new to controversy. In the past Mr. Hassan Dai of Iranian American Forum, a group dedicated to regime change in Iran, was involved in a defamation lawsuit after accusing NIAC of lobbying for the Iranian government and financial ties to the Namazi family (later detained in Iran). Mr. Dai also accused NIAC of ties with the Obama Administration to support Obama’s Iran policy.

Another proponent of regime change in Iran, Alireza Nourizadeh, founder and chief executive of London-based Iran-e Farda TV, has implied the zoroastrian family of Mr. Trita Parsi, NIAC's President, has received trading favors from the Iranian government in exchange for lobbying for the regime.

Upon an inquiry by Kodoom, Trita Parsi who has recently decided to pass the torch and step down as President of NIAC has provided responses, a summary of which follows:

Trita Parsi on C-SPAN

Trita Parsi about accusations by Mr. Dai: In court, Mr. Daei, a long time supporter of the MEK [MKO] terrorist organization ... backed away from his false accusations, knowing that he has no evidence or basis for his lies. Outside of court, in an effort to regain some degree of relevance, he has continued to spread lies. Indeed if asking me or NIAC to answer every lie he spreads, proper journalists should ask him what his evidence is for his false accusations?... We have seen very clearly that the media's repetition of and failure to push back against Trump's countless lies during the 2016 election enabled him to profoundly damage America's democratic institutions. Daei is doing the same thing in the Iranian-American community.

Do also note that his accusations against Siamak and Baquer Namazi are false and that the Iranian regime is repeating Daei's fake accusations against Siamak and Baquer. That is only one of many ways in which Daei's thinking and methodology is mirroring that of the hardliners in Iran.

Parsi with Douglas, Ben-Ami and Zeta Jones in Ploughshares Fund's Chain Reaction gala

Trita Parsi about accusations by Mr. Nourizadeh: Here we have yet another example of people making noise and seeking relevance by making false accusations, and the media committing journalistic malpractice by not demanding evidence from the accuser and instead asking that the accused proves his or her innocence. This failure has created a situation in which accusation are treated as evidence and instead of being innocent until proven guilty, the accused are treated as guilty until proven innocent. It is stunning to me that people claim they seek democracy in Iran while pursuing and reinforcing such blatantly undemocratic practices in exile.

But for the record, my family has never sought or been given any favors by the Iranian government, nor do we have any connections to their security agencies (just go and read the how the Iranian hardline media - using the same undemocratic mindset as Nourizadeh and Daei - constantly attack us in Iran), nor has the US government raided our office, nor am I being investigated.

And for the record, Elvis Presley doesn't live in my basement, I didn't shoot Tupac, and I have no relationship with Big Foot!

Trita Parsi about future of NIAC and the targeting by the Israeli firm hired by Trump: There's no investigation of my or NIAC by the FBI. But we have been targeted by an Israeli intelligence firm, run by former Mossad agents, allegedly hired by people in Trump's circle seeking to silence our voice and end our efforts to prevent war between the US and Iran. The objectives and methodology of these Israeli elements, Trump associates and Daei and Nourizadeh appears to be very similar, if not identical.

I am very proud of how far NIAC has come in 17 years. Despite all the lies and attacks from undemocratic elements outside and inside of Iran, NIAC has grown to become a $2 million organization funded overwhelmingly by the Iranian-American community itself - no other advocacy organizations in our community has achieved this. And like no other organization before it, we have given Iranian Americans a voice in the United States political arena. I understand that must have been very disappointing for Daei, the Mujahedin and supporters of war, but reality is that they are the minority and NIAC represents the Iranian-American majority - a majority that seeks democracy in Iran through peaceful means, who opposes war and sanctions, and who supports dialogue and diplomacy.

Going forward, our community and NIAC are going to face some significant challenges. Trump has made racism ok again, he is making discrimination against Iranians legal, and he is putting the US on a path to war with Iran - or at least an attempt to dismember Iran and turn it into Syria. And to his aide, he has a few Iranian individuals and organizations who are promoting this cause inside our own community.

Under these circumstances, our community needs to be more vigilant than ever before, because the psychological war to divide us and pave the way for war clearly has begun. While I am very worried about these developments, I am optimistic about our community's ability to come together and stand up for peace.

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