Lisa Daftari is an investigative journalist focusing on foreign affairs, with a specialization in Middle Eastern policy and
counterterrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...
. She regularly appears on television and radio with commentary and analysis, providing exclusive reporting on vital developments in the region. Currently, she is an on-air Fox News political analyst and has previously been featured on CBS, NBC, PBS, the Washington Post, NPR, ABC, Voice of America, and others. Lisa also serves as founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Foreign Desk, an international news and U.S. foreign policy news website. Daftari has been interviewed in Spanish, English, and Persian.
Her areas of expertise and coverage include the Middle East and North Africa, terrorism,
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
, the Arab Spring, global Christian persecution, human rights, cyber security, and more. She was invited to show her documentary film about an Iranian underground political movement in Congress. She frequently is called upon to give briefs and expert testimony for government and private entities. Daftari has worked for a number of think tanks in Washington, where she has written exclusive reports for the Pentagon and other government groups.
Early life
Daftari was born in New Jersey to Sean and Simin Daftari. Her father is a physician and college professor, and her mother has a background in language and
accounting
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...
. Her parents are Iranian Jews who met in United States and married in Iran. She grew up in
Annenberg School of Journalism
The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism comprises a School of Communication and a School of Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC). Starting July 2017, the school’s Dean is Willow Bay, succeeding Ernest J. ...
at the University of Southern California, where she was awarded a Presidential Merit Scholarship. Using her grant, she delivered the exclusive story of four Iranian brothers detained in federal prison on charges connecting them to the MEK, a political organization opposed to the Iranian government. She delivered her report on PBS for a 9/11 anniversary show.
Daftari is fluent in English, Persian, Hebrew, and Spanish and is an avid opera singer and pianist.
Daftari is a supporter of Israel.
Career
In 2006, while in graduate school, Daftari was invited to show her thesis documentary film about an underground Iranian political group,
Marze Por Gohar
The Glorious Frontiers Party ( fa, حزب مرز پرگهر, Hezb-e Marz-e Por-Gohar, taken from the first line of ''Ey Iran'' anthem) is an Iranian nationalist political party exiled in the United States. The party is banned in Iran.
According t ...
, to Congress. During that time, she worked as an associate producer in the investigative unit at NBC in Los Angeles. While at NBC, she helped break the story about the
2005 Los Angeles bomb plot The 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot was a 2005 effort by a group of ex-convicts calling themselves '' Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh'' to bomb several military bases, a number of synagogues, and an Israeli consulate in California.
On 31 August 2005, Kevin ...
, in which Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, an Islamistprison gang, planned to bomb prominent Los Angeles sites.
In 2007, after graduating, Daftari left NBC to work as a researcher for several think tanks focusing on the Middle East and counterterrorism. She attended several hearings on Iran
divestment
In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...
in the
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The A ...
. At the end of that year, she delivered a 100-page report about Iranian youth movements to the Pentagon.
In 2009, Daftari began appearing on the Fox News Channel commentating on developments in the Middle East and Iran, in particular. She now appears frequently on the network on various television and radio programs.
In 2015, she launched "The Foreign Desk," a website dedicated to reporting stories from around the world with an emphasis on their impact on human rights, global security, and U.S. foreign policy.