National Iranian American Council: The Rise and Fall of An American Foreign Policy NGO

• In Event: Interest Groups and Public Policy

Abstract

In this paper, I explore the story of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), tracing its emergence, its short-term rise, and eventual fall. NIAC was founded as a nonprofit organization to advance the interests of Iranian Americans and serve as a peacemaker between Iran and the US. From the time it was founded as a small NGO, it caused much controversy among the Iranian community in the diaspora, being viewed as a mouthpiece for Islamic Republic of Iran in Washington D.C. During the Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, it reached its peak of influence, with the Obama administration constantly consulting with the organization. This was the time when other foreign policy interest groups involved in policymaking in Washington found its stances in conflict with their own and their clients’ interests. It was during this time that it came under unprecedented pressure, and major members one by one resigned or disappeared from the political scene. The final blow came during Women, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran. The diaspora opposition targeted NIAC, framing it as a collaborator of the Islamic Regime. With a destroyed reputation, the organization is barely of any significance in the political debates in Washington concerning Iran and the Middle East. I ask why was the Iranian diaspora community so ambivalent concerning NIAC? What major forces in Washington caused its demise, and what could it have done differently? I hope that this exploration sheds more light on how interest groups engaged in forging policy interact.

Author

• Mohsen Jalali, Midwestern State University