U.S. authorities have arrested seasoned Iranian academic Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi, a legal resident of the United States, on charges of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Ali Reza Miryousefi, spokesperson for the Iranian permanent mission in New York, stated that Afrasiabi's arrest in the U.S. stemmed from the prejudice and malicious intentions of the Trump administration against Iran, expressing regret that "the biased and malicious Trump administration against Iran arrested Dr. Afrasiabi in its final hours on false charges." Miryousefi confirmed that Dr. Afrasiabi was not an employee of the mission but was merely a university professor and international relations expert, clarifying that Dr. Afrasiabi provided consultations on international issues to the Iranian mission and that their working relationship had been entirely transparent from the beginning.
The Washington Post reported that federal agents arrested seasoned Iranian academic Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi, a legal resident of the United States, on charges of violating FARA. The newspaper quoted federal prosecutors stating that the Iranian author, who presented himself as a foreign relations expert and political scientist, was, in fact, a spokesperson for the Iranian government and was accused of violating the law requiring foreign agents to register with the U.S. government.
The Washington Post added that numerous payments from the mission to Afrasiabi were processed by a financial institution in Queens from July 2007 to November 2020, claiming the Iranian academic received at least $265,000 and was provided with other benefits as an employee of the mission. Investigators explained to the newspaper that Afrasiabi received pay and health benefits from Iran while working as a "secret spokesperson for the Iranian government," noting that his tasks included discussing Iran's nuclear policy in discussions with U.S. officials while presenting himself as an independent expert.
The newspaper stated that Afrasiabi appeared via Zoom in a federal court in Boston on Tuesday after being arrested in Massachusetts, indicating that U.S. authorities had issued an order for his detention until his scheduled hearing on Friday.
The complaint filed against Afrasiabi indicates that the Foreign Agents Registration Act exists "to prevent clandestine influence by foreign agents" in the United States, as foreign government agents are required to disclose their activities and the payments they receive for working on behalf of other countries.
The newspaper added that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York is handling the case, and Afrasiabi is expected to be transferred to New York to face the charges.
The American newspaper explained that Afrasiabi's role as an Iranian employee was not disclosed in 2009 when he assisted an unidentified U.S. congress member in drafting a letter to former President Barack Obama to promote the fuel exchange agreement proposed by Iran, noting that that letter only described him as a "former professor at Tehran University and a former advisor to the Iranian nuclear negotiating team."
The Washington Post pointed out that court documents highlighted that some of Afrasiabi's efforts included attempts to extract sensitive information from Americans when he emailed a State Department official requesting "the administration's latest thinking" on "the Iranian nuclear file" without disclosing the nature of his relationship with Iran.
The newspaper concluded by reporting that Afrasiabi continued to communicate with the office of an elected official for years in an effort to advance the Iranian government's agenda, complaining about his stalled progress since the U.S. government was "in the comfort of the Zionists," as mentioned in one of his messages to an acquaintance at the mission.
