Trita Parsi coauthored a paper with Siamak Namazi on the importance of bringing Iranian-Americans into the political process to “mend the differences and misperceptions between Iran and the United States,” which they delivered at a conference in Cypress in November 1999.[1]
The paper discusses the Iranian-America demographics, their participation as cultural ambassadors between both nations, and value of increased communications and travel.
They recommended setting up a lobbying organization in the US, patterned after the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Both Parsi and Siamak oppose economic sanctions and urged an “increased awareness” among Iranian-Americans on the “counterproductive aspects of a confrontational sanctions policy.” They said it was important for Iranian-Americans to engage “in the debate on the future of Iran-US relations,” which they described as “a rational approach to Iran,” and not the same as “support for the regime in Iran.”[2]
What is most interesting about the paper is the near absence of any negative information about the Iranian regime and its long history of repression and violence against its citizenry. There are reasons the mullahs’ regime has been described as “evil” and the “most active state sponsor of terrorism,” issues completely avoided in the paper.
Parsi and Namazi describe Iranian expats who fled the totalitarian regime as “handicapped” because of their first-hand knowledge of the regime. Expat children, they then explain, “do not carry the same emotional burdens that stand in the way of fully adapting to a new country and culture.”[3] Thus, knowing less about Iran and its vile ways is advantageous to improving relations with regime.
The Parsi/Namazi paper attacks the People’s Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK), which has long been the main opposition group advocating the replacement of the regime with a democratic government. Parsi and Namazi said involving more Iranian-Americans in the US political process “could do a lot in the way of ostracizing the MKO.”[4]
Parsi and Namazi highlight the high level of trade between Iran and the US in 1991 ($760 billion) and its subsequent decline after sanctions were applied. They avoid any discussion on the reasons sanctions were imposed. The day President Clinton signed the sanctions bill into law in 1996, he said, “You cannot do business with countries that practice commerce with you by day while funding or protecting the terrorists who kill you and your innocent civilians by night.”[5]
That the paper by Parsi and Namazi presents a false and misleading view of the Iranian regime is no surprise given their links to the mullahs.
The conference where they presented their paper was sponsored by the Centre of World Dialogue and by Hamyaran, an Iranian NGO established by Siamak’s father, Baquer, and an Iranian deputy minister.[6] The NGO oversees all contacts between international organizations and Iran’s NGOs to ensure they do not step out of line.[7]
Baquer reportedly made the arrangements for Parsi and Siamak to attend the conference, which was organized to promote pathways to improve US-Iranian relations and remove the economic sanctions.[8] In reality, it was a propaganda platform for the mullahs and a means to promote their foreign policy goals.
[1] “Iran-Americans: The Bridge between Two Nations,” Siamak Namazi & Trita Parsi, presented at the Dialogue and Action Between the People of Iran and America (DAPIA) Conference, Cyprus, November 1999.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] “Clinton Signs Bill Against Investing in Iran and Libya,” New York Times, August 6, 1996.
[6] The conference was called “Dialogue and Action Amongst the People of Iran and America.”
[7] Ibid.
[8] The conference was title “Developing Links between Iran and the United States.” See “Iran’s Web of Influence in US,” by Hassan Daioleslam, FrontPageMag.com, August 4, 2008.
Read more about NIAC:
Bogus Memberships & Supporters
Survey
Lobbying
Iranians for International Cooperation
Defamation Lawsuit
People’s Mojahedin
Trita Parsi Biography
Parsi Links to Namazi & Iranian Regime
Namazi, NIAC Ringleader
Collaborating with Iran’s Ambassador