A widening scandal involving former high-ranking Iranian official Seyed Hossein Mousavian and controversial Princeton professor is unfolding. Mousavian is accused of endorsing Hezbollah and Hamas in a 1997 German newspaper interview, as well as supporting an Iranian fatwa ordering the assassination of author Salman Rushdie. The Ivy League professor is currently under investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The investigation into Mousavian’s ties with Iran is ongoing, and no findings have been issued yet.
Mousavian’s interview with a German paper in 1997 revealed his support for Hamas and Hezbollah, although he denied supplying weapons to the groups. The Middle East Media Research Institute translated the interview, shedding light on Mousavian’s alleged involvement in stoking terrorism in Europe, including the assassination of Kurdish dissidents in Berlin in 1992. Despite the controversial revelations, Mousavian, a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University, has been hosted by the Obama administration and invited to speak at important military events during the Biden administration.
The accusations against Mousavian have led to calls for his dismissal from Princeton University, similar to the ousting of another pro-Iran regime academic, Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, from Oberlin College. Mahallati, a former Iranian ambassador to the U.N., faced scandals related to his support for Hamas teachings and denial of the Iranian regime’s mass murder of dissidents in 1988. The Alliance Against the Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists has spearheaded a campaign to fire academics like Mahallati and Mousavian, citing concerns about their ties to oppressive regimes.
Mousavian has refused to answer questions about his endorsement of the Iranian decree to murder Rushdie, as well as his alleged involvement in the Iranian state-sponsored murders of Kurdish dissidents in Berlin. Despite the accusations against him, Mousavian has denied any direct or indirect involvement in the crimes and has defended his actions. A leading antisemitism expert has criticized Mousavian for making antisemitic statements against Israel and comparing the country’s actions to those of Nazi Germany, calling for his disqualification as an academic in American higher education.
The scandal surrounding Mousavian has raised concerns about academic integrity at Princeton University and other institutions in the U.S. The National Association of Scholars and Iranian American human rights activists have called for his termination, citing his ties to oppressive regimes and controversial statements. Mousavian’s continued employment at Princeton and his support for Hamas and Hezbollah have sparked outrage and protests against the university. The ongoing investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce will shed more light on Mousavian’s actions and their implications for national security.
