Let's Talk Iran (and Stuff)

On April 2, 2025, NIAC hosted a Congressional Briefing in the U.S. Senate on the prospect for diplomacy with Iran under the Trump Administration featuring The American Conservative's Curt Mills, Center for International Policy’s Negar Mortazavi, and NIAC President Jamal Abdi, moderated by NIAC Policy Director Ryan Costello. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym_RrdofI0Y

On May 24, 2022, NIAC hosted a virtual panel to explore the human impact of broad sanctions and hear from diaspora community organizations about the effects on the ground in Cuba, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Iran. The panel featured Arash Azizzada from Afghans For A Better Tomorrow, Dr. Aisha Jumaan from Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, Dr. Francisco Rodriguez from Oil for Venezuela, Ricardo Herrero of the Cuba Study Group, NIAC Research Director Dr. Assal Rad, and moderator Daniel Jasper of American Friends Services Committee. Read our letter to the Biden Administration from sanctioned communities here.

NIAC hosted a panel discussion with Neda Maghbouleh (author of The Limits of Whiteness, John Ghazvinian (author of America and Iran: a History, 1720 to the Present), racial justice advocate Niaz Kasravi, NIAC Research Director Assal Rad and moderator Yara Elmjouie to discuss how negative stereotypes of Iran and Iranians help drive harmful U.S. policies that undermine human and civil rights at home and abroad.  Read the NIAC report by Dr. Rad: Othering Iran: How Dehumanization of Iranians Undermines Rights at Home

On May 10, 2022, NIAC hosted Ellie Geranmayeh of the European Council on Foreign Relations, Kelsey Davenport of the Arms Control Association, and sanctions attorney Tyler Cullis for a live discussion on the state of the Iran nuclear negotiations moderated by NIAC's Jamal Abdi. The panel discussed  the Trump-era sanctions that are holding up the nuclear agreement, the imminent proliferation risks if there is no deal, and how politics may be preventing Biden from reaching the finish line. More information is available here.

Assal, Sina, and Mana sat down with Professor John Ghazvinian, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Middle East Center, to discuss his new book: America and Iran: A History 1720 to the Present. Ghazvinian's study presents a history that is often overlooked, which goes beyond the historical grievances of the U.S. and Iran. You can follow John on Twitter @JohnGhazvinian and get your copy of America and Iran here.

Mana sits down with Rep Anna Eskamani, Happy Valley Councilor David Emami, and Dr. Nazita Lajevardi to talk Iranian-American civic life, political engagement, barriers to participation, and more! Representative Anna Eskamani is an Orlando native, the Florida House of Representative from the 47th district in Orange County, and the first ever Iranian American to be elected to the Florida legislature. She tweets @AnnaForFlorida Happy Valley Councilor David Emami is a life-long Oregonian who in March 2019 became the first ever Iranian-American to serve on a city council in Oregon. He tweets @David Emami. Dr. Nazita Lajevardi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University and her work focuses mainly on issues related to race and ethnic politics, political behavior, voting rights, and immigration. She tweets @NazitaLajevardi.

Assal and Mana sat down with NIAC Advisory Board Member Ambassador John Limbert to discuss his new novel with co-author Ambassador Marc Grossman, Believers: Love and Death in Tehran. Though a tale of fiction, Limbert brings his knowledge of Iran's history, language, and culture, as well as his own experience as one of 52 American hostages held by Iranian students in 1979, to this engrossing spy novel set in Iran at the outset of the U.S. embassy seizure. Share your comments with Ambassador Limbert at podcast@niacouncil.org and get your copy of Believers here.

Jamal and Sina sit down with veteran CIA analyst Paul Pillar to discuss the mysterious explosions that continue to rock Iran and new revelations of authorizations granted to the Agency to wage offensive cyber operations and conduct what some say is a campaign aimed at destabilizing the country.   Read more: Paul Pillar for National Interest, "The Undeclared War With Iran" Yahoo News, "Exclusive: Secret Trump order gives CIA more powers to launch cyberattacks"

Mana and Assal sat down with Saint Paul Councilwoman, organizer, and former teacher Mitra Jalali one month after the brutal killing of George Floyd at the hands of police. Mitra spoke of her own experience as a Councilwoman close to the site of Floyd's murder and protests and the responsibility of non-Black Iranian Americans to support Black Lives Matter and confront the anti-Blackness within our own community.   Follow Mitra on Twitter @mitrajunjalali and check out this helpful post on Persian terms to talk about anti-Blackness here.

NIAC's new report, "Returning to and Building on the Iran Nuclear Deal: A Maximum Pressure Exit Strategy," outlines how the U.S. can get back to the JCPOA and back to the table with Iran to resolve bilateral and regional challenges -- either under a Biden Administration or a reformed Trump Administration. This launch event features Joe Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund, Suzanne DiMaggio of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, NIAC President Jamal Abdi, and is hosted by France 24 Senior Journalist Sanam Shantyaei.  >> Read the report >> Watch the event on Youtube

In our final chat with authors featured in "My Shadow is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora," Mana and Assal sit down with Shokoofeh Rajabzadeh. Her essay, "My Mom Killed Michael Jackson," explores her travels to Iran and a personal story of longing for a place that is at once familiar, yet out of reach. Get "My Shadow is My Skin at your local bookstore or here. And check more of Shokoofeh's writing at https://medium.com/@alwaysnotquite1.

Continuing our series of conversations with authors featured in "My Shadow is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora," Assal and Mana chat with Dr. Persis Karim, who contributed an essay and the forward for the anthology, and helped bring the entire project together with her work at San Francisco State University's Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies. Both thoughtful and witty, her essay, "In Praise of Big Noses," reflects on the influence of the western aesthetic on the Iranian body. Get "My Shadow is My Skin at your local bookstore or here.

Jamal, Ryan and Sina discuss The New Yorker piece "Twilight of the Revolution" and a proposal from the rightwing organization JINSA urging Trump to officially pursue "regime collapse" in Iran. Then they look at Sina's recent series in Responsible Statecraft on dangerous proposals from the Democratic side for Iran and how a Biden administration actually should approach the region.

For the second part in our series of conversations with the authors featured in "My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora," Assal sat down with Darius Atefar-Peckham, an up and coming poet whose contribution to the anthology, "Learning Farsi," is a reflection on his mother's passing when he was just 3 and the Iranian identity she handed down to him. "My Shadow is My Skin" is available at your local bookstore or here: https://www.amazon.com/My-Shadow-Skin-Iranian-Diaspora-ebook/dp/B0813R56KR

On the two-year anniversary of the Trump administration's decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal in favor of "maximum pressure" sanctions -- and coinciding with the president's veto of anti-war legislation -- Mana, Ryan, Assal and Jamal reflect on how we got here and where things may be headed.

A new anthology, "My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora," presents 30 essays on the Iranian-American experience from a range of authors. Mana and Assal speak with the editors, Katherine Whitney and Leila Emery. Order your copy today through your local bookstore! Also available on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/My-Shadow-Skin-Iranian-Diaspora-ebook/dp/B0813R56KR

Mana, Assal and Jamal discuss the Trump administration's new campaign to kill the Iran deal at the UN by claiming the US. is still a participant in the agreement. Then they talk through a troubling update on Sirous Asgari, the Iranian scientist unjustly detained by ICE, who has now contracted coronavirus (16:40).

The U.S. government lost its case against Sirous Asgari. But just moments after a judge dismissed the charges against him, Dr. Asgari was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is being held indefinitely. Now, as he fights for his freedom, he is sounding the alarm about the dangerous conditions in ICE detention facilities that put him and his fellow detainees at risk of contracting coronavirus. This week we speak with attorney Mehrnoush Yazdanyar who is working with Dr. Asgari to help secure his freedom. (You can sign the petition to ICE here: https://www.change.org/p/ice-field-office-director-new-orleans-save-my-dad-from-ice-s-virus-ridden-detention-centers)

Mana and Jamal discuss the campaign to suspend Iran sanctions during the corona crisis (1:50) and evaluate pro-sanctions talking points from the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board (5:10). Then physician Payam Parvinchiha joins Mana and Assal (15:18) for a group chat about the societal impact of coronavirus, why the U.S. was caught unprepared, and what we can do to fight the pandemic and support our health care workers.