U.S. Arrests Iranian Political Scientist Accused Of Being Government Agent
This article was originally published Jan. 19, 2021, by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The U.S. Justice Department has filed charges against an Iranian political scientist accused of being an agent for Iran’s government.
The Justice Department said on January 19 that Kaveh Afrasiabi, an Iranian citizen with U.S. permanent residency, was arrested at his home in Watertown, Massachusetts the previous day on charges of “acting and conspiring to act as an unregistered agent” of Tehran.
Afrasiabi is due to make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston later on January 19. If convicted on both charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“For over a decade, Kaveh Afrasiabi pitched himself to Congress, journalists, and the American public as a neutral and objective expert on Iran,” John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement.
Demers said that Afrasiabi “was actually a secret employee of the government of Iran and the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations (IMUN) who was being paid to spread their propaganda,” he added.
There was no immediate comment from Afrasiabi or his lawyer.
Federal prosecutors said Afrasiabi worked to influence public opinion in the United States on behalf of Iran in news articles and during appearances with U.S. news media.
They said he also lobbied a U.S. congressman and the State Department to adopt policies favorable to Iran, and counseled Iranian diplomats concerning U.S. foreign policy.
Afrasiabi is said to have been paid approximately $265,000 in checks drawn from the official bank accounts of the Iranian mission to the United Nations since 2007. He also received health benefits since at least 2011.
Copyright (c)2020 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Coffee or Die is Black Rifle Coffee Company’s online lifestyle magazine. Launched in June 2018, the magazine covers a variety of topics that generally focus on the people, places, or things that are interesting, entertaining, or informative to America’s coffee drinkers — often going to dangerous or austere locations to report those stories.
The Biden administration announced Monday that it has determined all sides in the brutal conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In its yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft b...
American veterans are taking the lessons they learned in the military and changing the craft distilling industry.
In a memo released Thursday, Austin called for the establishment of a suicide prevention working gro...
The Sea Dragon 23 exercises that started on Wednesday will culminate in more than 270 hours of in-fl...
In his latest poetry collection, Ranger-turned-writer Leo Jenkins turns away from war to explore cosmic themes of faith, fatherhood, and art.
The Pentagon on Thursday released video of what it said was a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on a ...
From the mountains of Italy to the mountains of Afghanistan, the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division built its legendary reputation by fighting in some of the most inhospitable places in the world.
