Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran

Abbas Edalat, who founded the Science and Art Foundation (SAF) in 1999 and subsequently helped Trita Parsi establish NIAC, created yet another NGO in December 1, 2005, called the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention (CASMII).

 

As its name implies, it was established to oppose sanctions and military intervention in Iran.[1]  More importantly, it was designed to reach out to anti-war organizations and persuade them to support the pro-Iran lobby agenda.

 

Little information is available about Edalat beyond his academic background.  Since 1989, he has been a professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at Imperial College in London.  He also is an adjunct professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Sharif University in Tehran,[2] and an adjunct professor at the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Niavaran Square, in Tehran.[3]  What compelled him to leave Iran and his ongoing connections to the regime are unknown.

When CASMII was founded, three members of its leadership were also board members of NIAC, including:

• Alex Patico – co-founder of NIAC.
• Mohamad Navab – professor of medicine at UCLA.
• Daniel M. Paukessali – an engineer at an electronic instrument company.

Three others who lent their support to CASMII had been board members on Parsi’s earlier NGO, Iranians for International Cooperation (IIC):

• Javad Fakherzadeh – founder and board member of Persian Gulf Online.
• Shahram Mostarshed – anti-war activist who previously was involved in the Persian Gulf Task Force (PGTF).
• Mohammad Ala – founder and a board member of Iran Heritage and Iran Alliance Online.  He also is a member of the board of the Persian Gulf.

CASMII claims to be an independent organization, but its political positions echo those of the Iranian regime.  For its extreme bias, the organization has been dubbed a “regime cheerleader” for Iran, a “propagandist mouthpiece,” and a “Mullah Supporter in the West.”

To influence policy, CASMII stated it planned to lobby “members of parliament and opinion-makers,” work in close collaboration with groups sharing similar views, and hold public meeting to highlight “relevant issues and to provide a critique of the increasingly belligerent threats against Iran.”[4]

CASMII and NIAC have collaborated on various projects.  As an example, they co-authored a letter in October 2007, titled “Give Diplomacy of Chance – Say No to Military Conflict?” which was sent to officials in Iran, UK, and US.[5]

In November 2006, CASMII joined Action Iran and Iran Solidarity to create Campaign Iran.  Typical of its publications “Answering the Charges,” a document riddled with falsehoods about the Iranian regime.  CASMII claimed Iran had not blocked any inspections for more than a year:

“Iran has fully complied with International Atomic Energy inspections.  They signed the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and for most of the last three years have allowed inspectors “to go anywhere and see anything.”[6]

Hassan Rouhani, then Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, announced in October 2003 that Iran would sign the Additional Protocol to allow unfettered access to its nuclear sites.  But after signing the document, he then announced it had to be ratified by the Majles (parliament).  To this day, the document has not been ratified and the IAEA has yet to have unfettered access to go anywhere and see anything in Iran.

Leadership 

Many people once identified with CASMII no longer appear active.  At one time, CASMII had a Steering Committee, US Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and Academic Advisory Board.  The organization’s website has stopped displaying a list of CASMII’s leaders.  Below are current and past leaders of CASMII.[7] 

Steering Committee

Abbas Edalat	The founder of CASMII and a member of its US Board of Directors.  He also sits on the Steering Committee of the Stop the War Coalition.
Mohammad Kamaali	He founded Patrix LLP (previously known as Javan Systems), a London-based company that hosted Iranian government websites, such as the Iranian Embassy’s website in Britain and the Organization of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, an Iranian political party.[8]
Mohamad Navab	A professor of medicine at UCLA. (Resigned position in August 2007)
Shirin Saeidi	Born in Iran, she grew up in the West and believes intellectuals are the “frontline protectors of Iranian sovereignty” and is opposed to the “American empire.”
Mehrnaz Shahabi	An Iranian now living in Bristol, she describes herself as an “anti-war activist and independent researcher.”  She also calls herself as a “psycho-social researcher.”
Reza Shirazi	A radical, anti-Semite who described America as “true blood suckers who have looted the whole world.”  He believes the US “has no right to be in [the] [M]iddle [E]ast and loot the oil.”[9]  On his facebook profile, under “likes,” he listed former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and PressTV, Iran’s state-run propaganda channel.  He also was listed as a member of the Advisory Board and the US Board of Directors.
Phil Wilayto	He is the editor of the Richmond Defender, a quarterly, far-left publication allied with anti-war groups published in Richmond, Virginia.  Wilayto is affiliated with the Marxist World Workers Party.  He attended Mount Carmel College for one year and Boston College for two years.  He is a Marxist and editor for the Richmond Defender, a quarterly, far-left publication allied with anti-war groups.

Advisory Board

Kaveh L. Afrasiabi	He traveled with Iranian then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the United Nations in 2010.  Previously, he worked in Tehran at the Center for Strategic Research, a think tank established by now-President Hassan Rouhani.
Mohammad Ala	He is the founder and board member of Iran Heritage and Iran Alliance Online.  He is also a board member of the Persian Gulf.
Javad Fakharzadeh	Founder and board member of Persian Gulf Online.
Betty Molchany	She was an attorney with American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).
Shahram Mostarshed	An anti-war activist previously involved with Iranians for International Cooperation (IIC) and Persian Gulf Task Force (PGTF).
Behrad Nakhai	A nuclear engineer who worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he was personally invited in 1998 by then Iranian President Mohammad Khatami to study Iran’s nuclear program.  He also was listed until 2007 as a member of the US Board of Directors for CASMII.

US Board of Directors 

Niki Akhavan	An activist and board member of the US chapter of the Campaign Against Sanctions.
Abbas Edalat	See above.
Foaad Khosmood	He is an anti-war organizer and writer.
Alax Patico	He is a cofounder of NIAC.
Daniel Pourkesali	Born in Babol, a city in northern Iran, he moved to the US in 1978, after graduating from high school.  He received a BS in aeronautical engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL.  He is a member of NIAC, the Persian Gulf Organization, and IIC.  He also was listed as a member of the US Board of Directors for CASMII.
Rostam Pourzal	The head of CASMII’s branch in the US.A social scientist, he retired from business in 2001 to work fulltime as a researcher and activist in Washington, DC.
Ali R. Rabi	An Iranian academic who relocated to the US, and founding chairman of the Middle East Citizens Assembly and a board member of the Iran-America Peace Forum.
Nader Sadeghi	A physician at George Washington University.
Reza Shirazi	See Steering Committee members.

In August 2008, CASMII announced an Academic Advisory Board.[10] Its members included:

Behrooz Abdolvand, Free University of Berlin w Martin Baraki, University of Marburg w Reiner Barun, a managing director at the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms w  Joachim Guilliard, political scientist w Ali Fathollah-Nejad, an “Iran expert” w Mohssen Massarrat, development researcher w Werner Ruf, a peace and conflict researcher w Ahad Rahmanzadeh, University of Bonn w Yvonne Schmidt, University of Graz w Arne Seifer, spokesman for Diplomats for Peace with the Islamic World w Albert Stahel, University of Zurich w and Udo Steinback, director of the German Institute for Middle East Studies.

[1] CASMII does not condemn Iran’s military interference in neighboring countries.

[2] The Institute was created in 1989 by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (IEOI) as a training facility for nuclear scientists.  It previously was called the Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics, also known as the Jabit bin al-Hayyan Laboratory.  While the Institute is not believed to be directly involved in Iran’s nuclear weapons program, it does train others who are conducting such activities.

[3] (bio on Imperial College)

[4] www.campaigniran.org

[5] http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/?q=node/3048

[6] Answering the Charges, www.campaigniran.org

[7] http://archive.today/Q5FvI#selection-3921.0-4203.1

[8] The Iranian Embassy’s website in Britain, the Organization of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, an Iranian political party, and a website for the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research & Technology.

[9] Reza Shirazi’s internet handle is goftogootv.

[10] http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/?q=node/7606