There has been a lot of back and forth arguments on Iranian.com on whether NIAC really represents the Iranian-American interests or is really an agent of IRI in disguise. It was refreshing to see a bid of news yesterday that the U.S. State Department had sponsored several talks/interviews by Trita Parsi, the President of NIAC, in several venues in Saudi Arabia. These talks/interviews ranged on issues from US-Iran relations to advocating issues on the Capitol.
19th Annual
Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference
Arab-U.S. Relations: Going Where?
October 21 – 22, 2010
While there are some folks that will think that this whole episode was a trick or something sinister in disguise, I hope that news that the U.S. State Dept. sponsored Tita Parsi’s talks/inerviews in Jeddah on various issues should put to rest any crazy idea that NIAC represents IRI. One need to ask whether the U.S. government would really give a podium to an IRI agent to talk anywhere, especially in Saudi Arabia?
Here is the video of the event from CSPAN (01:14:45, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/296144-101). Trita’s talk is from 25:40-37:30 minutes.
——————————-
http://jeddah.usconsulate.gov/
http://jeddah.usconsulate.gov/trita-parsi.html
Dr. Trita Parsi on U.S.-Iranian Relationship
This week, U.S. Consulate General Jeddah hosted Dr. Trita Parsi, founder and President of the National Iranian American Council. Dr. Parsi, a noted scholar in the fields of Iranian politics and U.S.-Iranian relations, participated in several events while in Jeddah. In addition to an exclusive interview with a reporter from Al Madina newspaper, Dr. Parsi chaired a roundtable luncheon hosted by CG Tom Duffy. This event was very well-received by the audience, a mix of prominent academics, businesspeople, journalists, and intellectuals. There was significant audience participation and interest in the topic.
————————-
http://www.niacouncil.org/site/News2pageNewsArticle&id=6787&security=1&news_iv_ctrl=-1
U.S. Department of State Hosts NIAC President Dr. Trita Parsi in Saudi Arabia
Thursday, October 21, 2010
By: Lily Samimi
Dr. Parsi was invited to speak and share his expertise on U.S.-Iranian relations and Iranian politics during the first week of October at several events in Riyadh, Dharan and Jeddah.
The U.S. Department of State recently hosted Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council, for a series of events in Saudi Arabia coordinated by the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh. Dr. Parsi was invited to speak and share his expertise on U.S.-Iranian relations and Iranian politics during the first week of October at several events in Riyadh, Dharan and Jeddah.
Dr. Parsi took part in a variety of talks on US-Iranian politics, including discussions at the Institute of Diplomatic Studies, Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, and with journalists at Al Eqtisadiyah News. Consulate General Tom Duffy hosted a roundtable luncheon chaired by Dr. Parsi which, according to the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah’s official release, “was very well-received by the audience, a mix of prominent academics, businesspeople, journalists, and intellectuals. There was significant audience participation and interest in the topic.”
As part of the US government’s public affairs outreach, the State Department tours prominent US-based experts and academics in the region to provide an opportunity for officials from foreign ministries, academics, journalists, and members of the business community to engage with them.
