National Iranian American Council
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The National Iranian American Council (NIAC; fa, شورای ملی ایرانیان آمریکا) is a
NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
based in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
The NIAC Action, the sister organization of NIAC, was formed in 2015 to build political power for Iranian Americans and utilizes grassroots advocacy, undertakes direct lobbying efforts in Washington DC, and engages political candidates to advocate NIAC's goals.
Trita Parsi Trita Parsi ( fa, تریتا پارسی, born 21 July 1974) is the co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, as well as the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council. He ...
was one of the founders and is the organization's former president. Jamal Abdi, formerly NIAC's Vice President for Policy and Executive Director for NIAC Action, took over as president on August 1, 2018. NIAC is known for being in multiple controversies over claims of lobbying for the Islamic Republic.


Background

NIAC was founded in 2002 by
Trita Parsi Trita Parsi ( fa, تریتا پارسی, born 21 July 1974) is the co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, as well as the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council. He ...
, Babak Talebi, and Farzin Illich to promote Iranian-American relations. NIAC advocates against war with Iran and advocated in support of the Iran nuclear deal. The Congressional publication, ''The Hill,'' cited NIAC's work in support of the Iran nuclear accord as one of the "Top lobbying victories of 2015."


Sanctions

A NIAC report concluded that U.S. sanctions on Iran cost the U.S. economy between $135 billion and $175 billion in lost export revenue between 1995 and 2012. After the Iran nuclear deal was implemented and U.S. secondary sanctions on Iran were eased, the organization questioned the utility of the broad economic embargo the U.S. maintains on trade with Iran.


Lobbying for Iranian Students in the U.S.

NIAC apparently has worked on behalf of Iranian students in the U.S. NIAC led the campaign to change the U.S.'s single-entry visa policy towards Iranian students, by allowing Iranian students to receive multiple entry visas to facilitate their travel to the country, a measure that the Obama administration adopted in 2011.


Efforts to save ancient Persian artifacts

NIAC opposed efforts to confiscate ancient Persian artifacts from the University of Chicago, the Chicago Field Museum, Harvard University, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts as part of court cases filed against the Iranian government. From 2006-2018, NIAC fought against seizure of the Persepolis tablets in the media, the courts, the Congress, and the White House. This included supporting legislative amendments to prevent the seizure of ancient Persian artifacts, calling directly on the White House to intervene to protect the Persepolis tablets, and submitting an amicus brief on behalf of the Iranian-American community to the court to ensure that the community's heritage is protected.


NIAC Action

NIAC's sister 501(c)4 organization, NIAC Action, was formed in 2015 to support the nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran and to champion Iranian American priorities. At that time, NIAC Action assumed responsibility for and expanded direct and grassroots lobbying work previously conducted by NIAC. NIAC Action's expressed advocacy goals are "to strengthen U.S. diplomacy with Iran to advance peace and human rights, promote greater openings between the American and the Iranian people, protect civil rights and opportunities for Iranian Americans at home, and support candidates who represent the Iranian American community's values." Jamal Abdi currently serves as the organization's Executive Director.


Policy conference

Since 2011, NIAC has held an annual Leadership Conference that "aims to expose its attendees to world-class leaders, and to teach Iranian Americans how to gain the political strength needed to effect real change on the issues." The conference in 2015 included addresses from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), as well as Representatives
Donna Edwards Donna Fern Edwards (born June 28, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2008 to 2017. The district included most of Prince George's County, as well as part of Anne Arundel County. She is a member of the D ...
(D-MD) and
Dan Kildee Daniel Timothy Kildee (; born August 11, 1958) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 5th congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. From 1977 to 2009, Kildee was a municipal e ...
(D-MI).


Lobbying controversy and defamation lawsuit

In 2007, Arizona-based Iranian-American journalist Hassan Daioleslam began publicly asserting that NIAC was lobbying on behalf of the
Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. In response, Parsi sued him for defamation. As a result of the lawsuit, many internal documents were released, which former ''
Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' correspondent
Eli Lake Eli Jon Lake is an American journalist and the former senior national security correspondent for ''The Daily Beast'' and ''Newsweek''. Currently, he is a columnist for the Bloomberg View. He has also contributed to CNN, Fox, CSPAN, Charlie Ro ...
stated "raise questions" about whether the organization had violated U.S. lobbying regulations. Lake's article further mentions that “two lawyers who read some of the same documents said they did not provide enough evidence to conclude that Mr. Parsi was acting as a foreign agent.” NIAC responded that it is in "full compliance with all regulations and laws" and published all of its tax returns online to back up its claim.
Andrew Sullivan Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American author, editor, and blogger. Sullivan is a political commentator, a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ' ...
responded to the story in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', suggesting the motive of the story was to "smear" Parsi's reputation. In September 2012, U.S. Federal District Court Judge
John D. Bates John Deacon Bates (born October 11, 1946) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in December 2001, and has adjudicated several cases ...
threw out the libel suit against Daioleslam on the grounds that "NIAC and Parsi had failed to show evidence of actual malice, either that Daioeslam acted with knowledge the allegations he made were false or with reckless disregard about their accuracy." However, Judge Bates also noted that "nothing in this opinion should be construed as a finding that aioleslam'sarticles were true. aioleslamdid not move for summary judgement on that ground, and it has not been addressed here." On April 9, 2013, Judge Bates ordered NIAC to cover a portion of Daioleslam's legal expenses. Based on a 2015
Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
report, Judge
John D. Bates John Deacon Bates (born October 11, 1946) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in December 2001, and has adjudicated several cases ...
rejected NIAC's lawsuit against Daioleslam, arguing that the NIAC's president work was "not inconsistent with the idea that he was first and foremost an advocate for the regime." The judge came to the conclusion that it is reasonable to rationally assert that NIAC is lobbying on behalf of the
Iranian government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...
. A March 2015 column by Eli Lake in Bloomberg View asserted that the emails showed cooperation between Parsi and the then Iran ambassador to the United Nations and current Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif Mohammad Javad Zarif Khansari ( fa, محمدجواد ظریف خوانساری, Mohammad-Javād Zarīf Khānsāri ; ; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in th ...
. NIAC's webpage confirms “that Parsi developed a relationship with Zarif after interviewing him on “numerous occasions for his book.” It states that Parsi made introductions for members of the U.S. Congress to meet with Zarif at the request of the lawmakers. According to The Washington Time's article, "Law enforcement experts who reviewed some of the documents, which were made available to The Times by the defendant in the suit, say e-mails between Mr. Parsi and Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations at the time, Javad Zarif - and an internal review of the Lobbying Disclosure Act - offer evidence that the group has operated as an undeclared lobby and may be guilty of violating tax laws, the Foreign Agents Registration Act and lobbying disclosure laws."


Funding

According to NIAC, "over 10,000 individual donors make up the core of NIAC’s support and provide the overwhelming majority of our funding every year." NIAC also receives funding from American philanthropic foundations such as the
Ploughshares Fund Ploughshares Fund is a public grantmaking foundation that supports initiatives to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons, and to prevent conflicts that could lead to their use. Ploughshares Fund is a 501(c)(3) foundation that pools contr ...
and
Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...
. NIAC states that it does not receive funding from the U.S. or Iranian governments.


Demonstration against NIAC

In July 2019, some members of the Iranian community in the United States organized a demonstration in front of NIAC office in Washington DC. They believed NIAC is "the representative of the corrupt and brutal Islamic Republic regime" and not the voice of the Iranian-Americans. In response, a NIAC staff member appeared on
BBC Persian BBC Persian ( fa, بی‌بی‌سی فارسی) is the Persian language broadcast station and subsidiary of BBC World Service which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, and ...
and expressed support for free speech and described the protesters as supporters of the Donald Trump administration's policies toward Iran. Iranians who were protesting for
Regime Change Regime change is the partly forcible or coercive replacement of one government regime with another. Regime change may replace all or part of the state's most critical leadership system, administrative apparatus, or bureaucracy. Regime change may ...
believe that NIAC has not joined the Women, Life , Freedom Movement and is still looking for a way to reform by trying to reestablish the
JCPOA The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; fa, برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک , barnāmeye jāme'e eqdāme moshtarak (, ''BARJAM'')), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear ...
deal.


Republican Senators' call to investigate NIAC

In January 2020, three Republican senators
Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician, attorney, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator for Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the U.S. House of R ...
,
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
and
Mike Braun Michael Kent Braun (; born March 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Indiana since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the 63rd district in the India ...
claimed that NIAC and its sister organization NIAC Action have violated the
Foreign Agents Registration Act The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)2 U.S.C. § 611 ''et seq.'' is a United States law that imposes public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests.
(FARA) and they are "amplifying regime propaganda in the United States". They requested the US Attorney-General
William Barr William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump. Born and raised in New York City, Barr ...
to "evaluate whether an investigation of NIAC is warranted for potential FARA violations and to ensure transparency regarding foreign attempts to influence the US political process." In response to the letter, dozens of academics, policy professionals, activists, former senior U.S. officials and non-governmental organizations signed a statement denouncing the Senators' letter and expressing solidarity with and support for NIAC.


Recognized members

Among its affiliated people, it is possible to mention
Trita Parsi Trita Parsi ( fa, تریتا پارسی, born 21 July 1974) is the co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, as well as the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council. He ...
and Jamal Abdi who served as the leader of the organization. Moreover several active reporters on Iranian topics including Negar Mortazavi are affiliated with this organization.NIAC Welcomes New Media and Communications Staff , NIAC
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See also

* AIPAC * Quincy Institute


References


External links

*
NIAC Action
Website of NIAC's sister advocacy organization
tritaparsi.com
Trita Parsi's website {{Iran–United States relations Iranian-American culture in Washington, D.C. Iranian-American organizations Iran–United States relations Foreign policy political advocacy groups in the United States 501(c)(3) organizations 2002 establishments in Washington, D.C.