Page 6 - Hooshang Amirahmadi News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

© Getty Images The Justice Department recently indicted professor Kaveh Afrasiabi, charging that for decades his persona as a neutral, mild-mannered scholar was a cover and that, in reality, he was an agent of the Islamic Republic of Iran. If the allegations are true and this seasoned academic (Boston University, Harvard and UC Berkeley) was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote Iranian interests in the New York Times, Washington Post and Boston Globe and to appear on television, it was wasted money. Perhaps Iran got lucky and a man with a good cover offered his services, or perhaps he is one covert operative in a much larger operation to infiltrate American academia. But the sad truth is that Iran really doesn’t need agents to pose as neutral experts because American academics long have done Iran’s public messaging free of charge.  

New yorkUnited statesBoston universityColumbia universityElliot schoolIslamic republic of iranWilliamo beemanHooshang amirahmadiHassan rouhaniRuhollah khomeiniDaniel pipesHamid algarMichel foucaultHossein askariKenneth waltzRobert jervis