Iraniansforum.com, 9.1.2011

During the Bush administration and because of his disastrous invasion of Iraq, the American “left” and anti-war movement became very active and organized grass root lobby networks to influence US foreign policy and prevent new hawkish adventures in the region.

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and its lobby partners in business circles, notably USA*Engage, joined the peace groups and gradually shifted their focus toward fighting the sanctions and pressure on Iran. (At the end of this article, you can find part of Trita Parsi’s  report to his lobby partners in Tehran, Siamak Namazi, an oil consultant and government associate to whom Parsi explains how to “use” the anti-war movement in a lobby in favor of friendship with Tehran.)

As a result, a large number of websites and radio stations have emerged that supposedly fight the neoconservative agenda but in reality are entirely defending the Mullahs’ policies. One of these websites is lobelog belonging to Jim Lobe and his Inter Press Service (IPS). The website is mainly focused on Iran issues and has couple of writers. Please go to this website where you can find daily articles and reports explaining the activities of “neoconservatives and warmonger” who are generally described as “Israeli right wing government allies” who try to “demonize the Iranian regime and therefore push Obama to a new war with Iran”.

In case a US politician criticizes Iran for fueling anti-American terrorism in Iraq, he is treated as naive or a neoconservative stooge. Iran’s nuclear program is described as peaceful, its regional policies as nationalistic and pragmatist, Iran’s grievance against US as entirely legitimate and the opposition groups that seek a regime change are presented as puppets of Israel or Iranian versions of Ahmad Chalabi.

Please get a tour of website and try to find anything that could distinguish this blog from an Iranian regime’s-run medium.

Interestingly, the website echoes NIAC’s points of views and supports its lobby. There is also one of Trita Parsi’s email discovered during the defamation lawsuit brought against Hassan Dai that sheds light on the relation between the blog and parsi.

In this email, Parsi asked his partner in Tehran (oil consultant and government partner) Siamak  Namazi to find a journalist in Tehran to write for IPS and be paid $150 per article.  Namazi was partner and managing director at Atieh Bahar who arranged business deals between the government and multi -national corporations. (To study the relation between Parsi and Atieh Bahar please see Gallery one, Gallery two).

NIAC internal document: Parsi’s report to his lobby partners in Tehran

In 2007 Parsi sent a report to his partner in Tehran and explained the activities of anti-war groups and how they could be morphed to an anti-sanction lobby. The report is titled the “lobby groups”:

“As of early 2005, Washington’s heated rhetoric over Iran has attracted the attention of a variety of interest groups eager to prevent the escalation of tensions in the Middle East and the prospects of a war between the US and Iran. These groups have managed to build unprecedented support in Congress in favor of dialogue and against military action among progressive Democrats as well as conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill.

This coalition of pro-dialogue and anti-war entities consists of a diverse group of organizations ranging from arms control organizations, to Iranian American organizations, to religious groups. Key players in this coalition are the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, which coordinates a coalition of approximately 50 organizations, MoveOn and the National Iranian American Council.

While these groups have focused extensively on passing measures to reduce the risk for war with Iran, little attention has been paid to efforts to intensify sanctions against Iran. Furthermore, while a momentum exists for anti-war measures, no comparable opportunity exists currently for an anti-sanctions campaign. Nor is the coalition of disarmament, religious and progressive groups best suited to take on this issue. Here, the absence of pro-business interests on Capitol Hill active constitutes a key point of advantage for AIPAC.”

In his report, Parsi explained the importance of bringing in the pro-trade lobby group and notably USA*Engage:

“Pro-Business groups

With the exception of USA Engage, American businesses and oil companies have after September 11 next to eliminated their efforts on Capitol Hill in favor of greater trade and contacts with Iran.

USA Engage is a coalition of approximately 500 major US companies which has retained a distant interest in the Iran issue, though the coalition has devoted little resources towards promoting trade or preventing new sanctions from being imposed. In particular, the recently imposed UN sanctions have granted the sanctions track with Iran new legitimacy and made efforts to oppose such measures on trade grounds more difficult.

However, initial efforts are currently being made to make align the trade groups with the pro-dialogue coalition and frame sanctions an initial step that invariably will lead to war. If such a coalition of pro-trade and pro-dialogue groups can be formed, the current momentum for sanctions may be significantly hampered.“