US Educators Urge Princeton University To Dismiss Iranian Professor
The National Association of Scholars (NAS) in the US has issued a call for Princeton University to terminate the employment of Iranian government official Seyed Hossein Mousavian.
The National Association of Scholars (NAS) in the US has issued a call for Princeton University to terminate the employment of Iranian government official Seyed Hossein Mousavian.
The demand comes in the wake of mounting concerns over Mousavian's alleged ongoing connections to the regime after years as a key advisor to the government.
Last November, the US House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce launched an investigation into Mousavian's role at Princeton University. The inquiry stems from his prior tenure as a nuclear negotiator for the Iranian regime, a position he held until 2009.
During that time, Mousavian also served as an ambassador to Germany, where the embassy was allegedly linked to numerous terrorist activities targeting Iranian dissidents.
Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif further fueled apprehensions when he suggested in a 2016 interview that Mousavian might still be operating in service of Tehran's interests. The assertions have been echoed by the Alliance Against Islamic Republic of Iran Apologists, an organization advocating for the dismissal of Mousavian due to his purported ties to terrorism.
The NAS asserts that Mousavian's continued presence at Princeton University poses a threat to national security and compromises the institution's academic integrity. His role as an expert in Middle East and nuclear policy, the association argues, provides him with a platform to shape public opinion and policy towards Iran's nuclear program, potentially advancing the agenda of a regime implicated in human rights abuses and acts of terrorism.
