The Islamic Republic of Iran has carried out terrorism worldwide since its founding in 1979, frequently using its “diplomats” and embassy personnel to commit, then cover up, these attacks. Just a few weeks ago, the FBI charged three assassins with ties to Tehran who targeted Masih Alinejad, an American citizen and critic of the Islamic Republic, in her own neighborhood in Brooklyn.
A new Amnesty International report cites evidence against a number of Iranian officials, including Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, Iran’s former United Nations ambassador. Mahallati is accused by Amnesty of crimes against humanity. According to the human rights group, “Mahallati played a particularly active role in seeking to undermine credible reports by the then U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and Amnesty International, and to weaken the U.N.'s response. For instance, he undertook efforts in late November and early December 1988 to block the adoption of a resolution by the U.N. General Assembly that expressed concern about the mass executions.”
Yet incredibly, Mahallati is now the Nancy Schrom Dye chairman of Middle East and North African Studies at Oberlin College in Ohio.
Not only is this “professor of peace” implicated in the killing of thousands of Iranians, but he also called for the destruction of Israel and has a long record of antisemitic statements. During a speech at the U.N. in 1989, Mahallati called Israel “an Islamic territory, an Islamic heritage,” and “an Islamic point of identity.” He concluded, “Its occupation by Zionist usurpers is a transgression against all Muslims of the world, and its liberation is therefore a great religious obligation and commitment.”
Mahallati also complained about condemnations of Iran’s persecution of the Baha’i community. He attempted to justify the revocation of Baha’i Iranians’ citizenship, as well as their imprisonment, torture, and execution. He endorsed the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and mocked the killing of American soldiers.
During a recent interview with Alinejad, Mahallati refused to acknowledge his well-documented connection to the Iranian regime, despite calling himself its loyal servant in a letter to the head of Iran’s parliament.
Family members of the Islamic Republic’s victims, human rights groups, Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, and Nobel Peace laureates have called for Mahallati’s termination. To date, Oberlin’s current president, Carmen Ambar, has chosen to ignore the school’s “enduring commitment to a sustainable and just society” and hypocritically cover for Mahallati’s crimes.
Oberlin’s board remains silent.
Recognizing the need for transparency, Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Jim Banks (R-IN) wrote a letter demanding details of Mahallati’s employment. Their letter questioned Oberlin College’s reporting of foreign funding and whether the regime had a role in Mahallati’s hiring.
But Mahallati is not the only former Iranian regime official to have been allowed to reinvent himself by an American university. Princeton University professor Seyed Hossein Mousavian made news after getting caught on camera giggling about Iranian threats against the family of Brian Hook, the former U.S. special representative for Iran.
During his stint as the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ambassador to Germany in the 1990s, Mousavian was involved in political assassinations and plots. As a result of his activity, the German government demanded his removal. Eventually, four Iranian “diplomats” were expelled, and Mousavian left shortly thereafter, escaping prosecution and landing comfortably at Princeton.
American universities are a big target for hostile nations to advance radical religious and political beliefs. U.S. schools have received at least $12 billion in foreign funds from 2013 to 2019, with little to no transparency. The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the major donors, giving millions to Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and other schools. Former Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) described such funding as an attempt to “subvert American academic institutions.” In 2019, the Clarion Project discovered that the Alavi Foundation, serving as a front for the Iranian regime, has exerted much influence over mosques and schools in the United States. Interestingly, Mohammad Jafar Mahallati’s brother,Mohammad Hossein Mahallati, served as the Alavi Foundation’s director.
According to Amnesty International, “direct perpetrators of the prison massacres are not the only people who must be subject to criminal investigations ... all former and current officials who have contributed to the climate of secrecy and denial facilitating the continued enforced disappearances of thousands of victims must also be held to account.”
Neither Mahallati nor Mousavian has been held accountable. Indeed, American universities continue to reward them. That’s not only painful for the families of the victims, but it inflicts reputational damage on U.S. universities and poses a serious national security threat.
