1/ A few days ago, I criticized @DokhiFassihian for her long-ago involvement with NIAC. But she's very open with her criticism now 👇 & a trusted friends in the human rights community tells me that she has aince been a solid voice for human rights protections in Iran, including..
2/... with respect to the establishment of the UN special rapporteur on Iran.
It's not my place, and I have no authority, to absolve anyone of anything. But my personal drive in talking about these issues has always been accountability, not vindictiveness.
3/ The goal should be to get people of good faith to genuinely recognize why their involvement with the #IranLobby was harmful and to take steps to rectify harms they may have caused.
Based on what I've been told and what I see, Ms. Fassihian meets that test.
4/ I speak for no one else, but I am happy that Ms. Fassihian is with us now. Our movement needs all the good faith members & allies it can find.
/END
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
1/ There's a video circulating -& sent to me by many -of ppl yelling at the Richmond Hill MP on the streets of Toronto. I won't share the video here but it's not hard to find.
I've been thinking about it and am trying to formulate my exact thoughts. Think of this as a draft.
2/ I doubt anyone in the Iranian-Canadian community (or in Canada generally) has been more critical than me of MP Jowhari. I've been persistent in critizing him for his Tehran-friendly positions & friends.
But that video left me deeply unsettled.
3/ What I write here is not directed at people *inside* Iran. I'm in absolutely no position to tell them how they should express their rage & their rightful political demands.
1/ 🧵As Iran's regime collapses, NIAC and the rest of the #IranLobby are desperate to pretend they have not defended it for years. They're putting out messaging that says they've "always" supported "regime change led by the Iranian people".
Is that true? #مهسا_امینی
2/ I could probably write a 500-tweet thread about how NIAC has talked about regime change over the years. But I'm just gonna do a few tweets to see if they've always been in favour of people-led regime change. (Aside: does NIAC not know that Twitter has a search function?)
3/ Former NIAC president, Trita Parsi
* Regime Change is a false promise
* it's dangerous to romanticize regime change
* it's not what Iranians want; it's a DC cottage industry
* Trump shouldn't have encouraged Iranians to do regime change.
1/ 🧵Mr. Batmanghelidj (@yarbatman), you assert that the US shouldn’t disempower Iran’s regime.
But here’s a key question: in promoting a view favourable to dictatorial regimes, do you think it is important to disclose your own conflicts of interest? #IranLobby #MahsaAmini
2/ Do you think the fact that you’re obviously close to regime officials – here you are with Iran’s UK ambassador; me & my friends wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near him—might have something to do with your views on pressure on Iran's regime?
3/ Related question: aside from running @BourseBazaar, your economy-focused site, you’re also the registered agent of the Iran Tobacco Research Group. According to your site, your business “unlocks market opportunities for…cigarette manufacturers”.
1/ The #IranLobby is under immense pressure. I love it. Keep it up!
2 developments:
2/ Touraj Darayee, prof at UC Irvine, occasionally linked to NIAC (I can't say how deeply linked; I honestly don't know) and thesis advisor to Assal Rad, NIAC's research director, feels pressured enough to put out video (see next tweet) distancing himself from the org.
1/ Hi @rezaaslan -- I know you're peddling a book about Howard Baskerville these days, so it's good business to be a "revolutionary" all of a sudden.
But is this you, lauding Iran's elections and talking about how Iranians want Chinese-style govt "in a heartbeat"? #IranLobby
2/ Is this you writing with Trita Parsi, the IRI's single greatest apologist in West, criticizing exiles (you know, those that barely escaped with their lives) for saying that Iran's elections are a sham?
3/ Is this you, just 2 years ago when the winds were blowing in a different direction, arguing that Iran is not *actually* a theocracy, but one with "a remarkably modern and surprisingly enlightened constitutional framework" that guarantees a lot of rights?
The #IranRevolution has made clear that Iranians despise their regime.
I'm looking at some Iran commentators to assess what they conveyed to Western audiences over the years.
Today: What the #IranLobby said about Qassem Soleimani
2/ To start, Soleimani's background: in short, he was a mass murderer.
> he & other IRGC commanders demanded that Prez Khatami crush the Iran's student protesters in 1999
> His Quds Force carried out attacks in Thailand, New Delhi, Lagos, and Nairobi
3/
> he was behind many of the IED attacks in Iraq.
> killed tens of thousands, including women and children, in Syria.
As soon as the #IranRevolution began, one of the first acts of revolutionaries, in his hometown, was to rip down his picture.