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Trita Parsi

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Trita Parsi
Parsi in 2010
Born
Ahvaz, Iran
CitizenshipIran, Sweden
Alma materJohns Hopkins University
Uppsala University
Stockholm University School of Business
Occupation(s)Author, analyst
OrganizationNational Iranian American Council
SpouseAmina Semlali
Children1
Websitetritaparsi.com

Trita Parsi (Persian: تریتا پارسی, born 21 July 1974) is an Iranian-born Swedish writer and activist, and the co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, as well as the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council.

He writes articles and appears on TV to comment on foreign policy and is the author of Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States, A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama's Diplomacy with Iran and Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy. In 2010, the Treacherous Alliance won the Grawemeyer Award for "Ideas Improving World Order."

Early life and Education

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Born in Ahvaz,[1] Iran, his father Dr. Touraj Parsi[1] was a politically active university professor, at Jondi-Shapoor University of Ahvaz, who had been jailed twice, first by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and then following the Iranian Revolution by Ruhollah Khomeini,[2] and Parsi moved with his family to Sweden at the age of four in order to escape the political repression in Iran.[3]

Parsi earned a master's degree in international relations at Uppsala University and a second master's degree in economics at Stockholm School of Economics.[4] As an adult, Parsi moved to the United States and studied foreign policy at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, where he received his Ph.D.[5] in International Relations under Francis Fukuyama.[4]

Career

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Early in his career, Parsi worked for the Swedish Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, where he served in the Security Council, handling the affairs of Afghanistan, Iraq, Tajikistan, and Western Sahara, and on the General Assembly's Third Committee, addressing human rights in Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Iraq.[4]

In 2003, Parsi served as an aide to Representative Bob Ney.[6][7] Parsi has served as an adjunct professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins University SAIS, an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute and as a Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC.[8]

National Iranian American Council

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In 2002, Parsi founded the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), whose stated purpose is "dedicated to strengthening the voice of Iranian-Americans and promoting greater understanding between the American and Iranian people. We accomplish our mission through expert research and analysis, civic and policy education, and community building."[9] At NIAC's founding, Parsi argued "Our community is educated, affluent, dynamic, and professionally successful. However, we have yet to harness our immense human potential into constructive engagement in American civil society."[10]

Through NIAC, Parsi supports engagement between the US and Iran, saying it "would enhance our [U.S.] national security by helping to stabilize the Middle East and bolster the moderates in Iran."[5]

In a 2011 talk sponsored by the Institute for Global Law and Policy at the Harvard Law School, Parsi argued that the conflict between Israel and Iran was not ideological but strategic and geopolitical.[11] In a 2012 article for Salon, Parsi accuses Israel of using "the threat of war to push the U.S. and EU into passing economic sanctions on Iran" and denounced those sanctions as "blind" and "indiscriminate."[12]

Lobbying controversy and defamation lawsuit

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In 2007, Arizona-based Iranian-American blogger[13] Hassan Daioleslam began publicly asserting that NIAC was lobbying on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Daioleslam wrote in an internal email, "I strongly believe that Trita Parsi is the weakest part of the Iranian web because he is related to Siamak Namazi and Bob Ney... I believe that destroying him will be the start of attacking the whole web. This is an integral part of any attack on Clinton or Obama."[14][15]

In response, Parsi sued him for defamation. In September 2012, a U.S. federal judge John D. Bates threw out the libel suit against Daioleslam on the grounds that "NIAC and Parsi had failed to show evidence of actual malice, either that Daioeslam acted with knowledge the allegations he made were false or with reckless disregard about their accuracy." Bates also wrote, "Nothing in this opinion should be construed as a finding that defendant’s articles were true. Defendant did not move for summary judgment on that ground, and it has not been addressed here."[16]

Personal life

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Parsi is an Iranian-Swedish dual national and a permanent resident of the United States.[17] He is fluent in Persian, English, and Swedish.[5]

Trita Parsi was awarded the 2016 Alumni of the Year prize from Uppsala University.[18]

Books

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Treacherous Alliance

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In 2007, Yale University Press published Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States. Parsi's work is an expansion of his 2006 Ph.D. dissertation writing at Johns Hopkins University under the supervision of his Ph.D. adviser Francis Fukuyama.[19] The book "takes a closer look at the complicated triangular relations between Israel, Iran, and the United States that continue to shape the future of the Middle East."[20] The book argues that the struggle between Israel and Iran is not ideological but strategic.

In Foreign Affairs, L. Carl Brown called the book a "well-constructed history" and former U.S. ambassador Peter Galbraith praised the book as "a wonderfully informative account." The book was also praised by political scientist John Mearsheimer and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski who was on his dissertation committee.[4][21] In 2008, Treacherous Alliance was awarded the silver medal (runner-up) in the Council on Foreign Relations' Arthur Ross Book Award.[20]

Reviewing the book in Commentary in March 2008, however, Nathan Thrall found it "troubling" that a "litany of praise" had "been heaped on this book by authorities in American foreign policy and Middle East studies." Parsi, noted Thrall, believes that "the internal dynamics of states (i.e., their ideology, system of governance, ethnic makeup, class structure, and religion), while important, 'have little or no impact on their respective foreign policies.'" Thrall suggested that in propounding such a thesis, Parsi, "the head of a lobby promoting 'greater understanding' of Iran," may just be "doing his job. But the distinction between arriving at a conclusion and beginning with one is what separates the work of a historian from that of a lobbyist. In this case, it is a distinction that seems to be lost not only on him but on the luminaries who have lined up to endorse his defective scholarship and tendentious conclusions."[21]

Treacherous Alliance received the 2010 Grawemeyer Award from the University of Louisville, given for "Ideas Improving World Order."[4] Treacherous Alliance also won the 2008 Arthur Ross Silver Medallion from the Council on Foreign Relations, which described it as a "unique and important book" that "takes a closer look at the complicated triangular relations between Israel, Iran, and the United States that continue to shape the future of the Middle East."[22]

In a 2011 interview with the Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard University, Parsi asserted that his thesis had "been vindicated" by recent events. "I believe it is increasingly clear that efforts to divide the region between moderates vs radicals, democracies vs non-democracies etc is of little utility and has no real explanatory value. Israel, for instance, who had sought to frame its rivalry with Iran as a struggle between the region's sole Western democracy against a fanatical Islamic tyranny, favored the status quo in Egypt and opposed the efforts to oust Mubarak." He added that "With the decline of the US, Israel's strategic paralysis and increased isolation in the region, the rise of Turkey, the 'revolutions' in Tunisia and Egypt, and Iran's continued difficulties in translating its strength to regional acceptance, the region is experiencing momentous changes both in its political structure and in its balance of power. An ideology-based approach towards understanding these shifts won't get you far."[23]

A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama's Diplomacy with Iran

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In the 2012 book, Parsi's thesis is that US-Iran relations are in a stalemate caused by institutionalized enmity: "The thirty-year-old US-Iran enmity is no longer a phenomenon; it is an institution." He argues that the way forth is through sustained diplomacy that he considers "the only policy that remains largely unexplored and that has a likelihood of achieving results amounting to more than kicking the can down the road."[24]

Julian Borger wrote in The Guardian that A Single Roll of the Dice is "A carefully balanced and thoroughly researched account of the tortured US-Iranian relationship in recent years."[25] L. Carl Brown from Foreign Affairs said the book is "the most incisive account available... eminently readable, sometimes gripping."[26]

Reviewing the book in The Wall Street Journal, Sohrab Ahmari faults Parsi for failing to "re-examine U.S. policy and its underlying assumptions." Instead, he writes, "Quick to ascribe irrationality and bad faith to opponents of engagement, Mr. Parsi is charitable when it comes to examining the motivations of the Iranian side." In opposition to Parsi's position, Ahmari concludes, "Mr. Obama's engagement policy failed not because of Israeli connivance or because the administration did not try hard enough. The policy failed because the Iranian regime, when confronted by its own people or by outsiders, has only one way of responding: with a truncheon."[27]

A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama's Diplomacy with Iran was selected by Foreign Affairs as the Best Book of 2012 on the Middle East.[8]

Losing an Enemy

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This book describes the course of the complex international negotiation that led to the conclusion in Vienna on July 14, 2015.[28]

Other literary works

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  • Parsi, Trita; Sick, Gary; Takeyh, Ray; Slavin, Barbara (2008). "Iran's strategic concerns and U.S. interests". Middle East Policy. 15 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4967.2008.00334.x. ISSN 1061-1924. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  • Parsi, Trita (2006). "The Price of Not Talking to Iran". World Policy Journal. 23 (4): 11–17. doi:10.1162/wopj.2007.23.4.11. ISSN 0740-2775. JSTOR 40210043. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  • Parsi, Trita (2006). "Is nuclear parity with Iran a blessing in disguise for Israel?". Jane's Intelligence Review. Internet: Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  • Parsi, Trita; Ernst, Max; Gay, Samantha (2014). "Beyond Military Action and Sanctioning: Creating a Sustainable U.S.–Iranian Relationship". The Brown Journal of World Affairs. 20 (2): 331–338. ISSN 1080-0786. JSTOR 24590991. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  • Parsi, Trita (2014). "Why Did Iran Diplomacy Work this Time Around?". Insight Turkey. 16 (3): 47–54. ISSN 1302-177X. JSTOR 26299395. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  • Parsi, Trita (2015). "Beyond Military Action and Sanctioning: Creating a Sustainable U.S.-Iranian Relationship". Brown Journal of World Affairs. 20 (2): 331–338. ISSN 1072-6799. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  • Parsi, Trita (2018). "Obama, Israel y el conflicto sobre Irán". Política Exterior. 26 (146): 82–89. ISSN 0213-6856. JSTOR 23249708. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  • Parsi, Trita (2017). "Correspondence". Nonproliferation Review. 24 (5–6): 399–400. doi:10.1080/10736700.2018.1452772. S2CID 219623506. Retrieved 2022-08-30.

Media appearances

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Parsi has been a guest on The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[29][30] Parsi has frequently appeared on C-SPAN to discuss the Iran nuclear deal and Middle Eastern politics.[31] Parsi also gave a widely viewed Ted Talk on the possibility of peace between Iran and Israel. In the talk, Parsi "shows how an unlikely strategic alliance in the past [between Iran and Israel] could mean peace in the future for these two feuding countries."[32]

Parsi is a guest on news programs including CNN, PBS Newshour, NPR, BBC, and Al Jazeera.[33]

Personal life

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Parsi is married to Amina Semlali, a human development specialist at the World Bank.[34] They are raising three children together.[35]

References

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  1. ^ a b "رئیس بهبهانی شورای ایرانیان امریکا و مرد هزار چهره مذاکرات هسته ای کیست؟!" [Who is Trita Parsi, the Founder of Nayak? From Fukuyama's Apprentice to BBC and Voice of America Analyst]. Behbahan-e Ma (in Persian). August 23, 2016. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  2. ^ Bob Driehaus (June 28, 2017). "Son of Iranian dissident sees hope and peril on horizon". WCPO-TV. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "Trita Parsi". New York State Writers Institute. Archived from the original on 2024-09-02. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  4. ^ a b c d e Huffington Post. "Trita Parsi bio". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  5. ^ a b c NIAC Staff = (8 July 2007). "Dr. Trita Parsi, President". Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  6. ^ Justin Elliott (5 December 2007). "Trita Parsi: The NIE's Got Nothing on Him". motherjones.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  7. ^ Alex Shirazi (15 September 2015). "The Shady Family Behind America's Iran Lobby". thedailybeast.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b Parsi, Trita. "About Me". Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  9. ^ National Iranian American Council (NIAC). "About NIAC". Archived from the original on 2016-08-25. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  10. ^ NIAC Staff (1 May 2002). "National Iranian American Council Opens Its Doors".[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Wong, Joanne. "President of the National Iranian American Council puts the conflict between Israel and Iran in historical perspective". Harvard Law. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  12. ^ Parsi, Trita (8 August 2012). "Israel's diplomatic scare game". Salon. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  13. ^ Armin Rosen (March 5, 2015). "America's most prominent group advocating engagement with Iran was hit with a rough court decision". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  14. ^ Josh Rogin (13 November 2009). "Does Washington have an Iran Lobby?". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  15. ^ MJ Rosenberg (7 May 2013). "Epic fail: The neocon attempt to destroy the anti-Iran war movement". Al-Jazeera. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  16. ^ Josh Gerstein (13 September 2012). "Iranian-American group, leader lose libel case against writer". Politico. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  17. ^ Parsi, Trita (12 November 2013). "Iran Nuke Negotiations - Trita Parsi Interview". The Colbert Report. 3 minutes, 22 seconds. Archived from the original (Video) on November 16, 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016. I was born in Iran. I am a Swedish citizen ... I'm a [U.S.] green card holder.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  18. ^ "Trita Parsi blir Årets alumn 2016 - Uppsala universitet". www.uu.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  19. ^ Parsi, Trita (28 October 2008). Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States (1 ed.). Yale University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0300143119.
  20. ^ a b "Paul Collier's Bottom Billion Wins CFR's 2008 Arthur Ross Book Award". Council on Foreign Relations. 16 May 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  21. ^ a b Thrall, Nathan (March 2008). "Persian Aversion". Commentary Magazine. Archived from the original on 2022-10-17. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  22. ^ Council on Foreign Relations. "Paul Collier's Bottom Billion Wins CFR's 2008 Arthur Ross Book Award". Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  23. ^ Saberi, Hengameh. "Interview with Parsi". Harvard. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  24. ^ Steve Coll, 'Will Iran Get That Bomb?', review of Parsi in New York Review of Books, May 24, 2012, pp.34-36, p.35.
  25. ^ Borger, Julian (21 March 2012). "A Single Roll of the Dice, by Trita Parsi review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  26. ^ L. Carl Brown (May–June 2012). "A Single Roll of the Dice, Obama's Diplomacy with Iran". Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  27. ^ "It Takes Two to Engage". The Wall Street Journal. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  28. ^ "Losing an Enemy". Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  29. ^ "Iran Nuke Negotiations - Trita Parsi". The Colbert Report. Comedy Central. 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  30. ^ "Trita Parsi Interview". The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Comedy Central. 8 March 2012. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  31. ^ "Trita Parsi | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  32. ^ "Iran and Israel: Peace is Possible". TED. Ted Talk. 9 October 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  33. ^ Parsi, Trita. "About Me". Trita Parsi. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  34. ^ "Amina Semlali". World Bank. 18 August 2020. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  35. ^ Semlali, Amina [@amina_semlali] (June 15, 2018). "Our diplomatic son wearing #Morocco cap and #Iran shirt for the game! #WorldCup @tparsi" (Tweet). Retrieved March 23, 2022 – via Twitter.
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