September 26, 2023
Over the past few days, we have witnessed an unprecedented level of open conflict between affiliates of Ms. Alinejad on one side and NUFDI on the other side, with each side accusing the other side of opportunistic behavior and lack of principles.
It is indeed disappointing and embarrassing that the conflict between these two camps (and former allies) has escalated so rapidly and so publicly, especially considering that they both purport to be advocates of the Iranian people. While we are disappointed to see such unprofessional conduct, we are not surprised. We had already witnessed first hand the unethical and opportunistic actions of both sides of this feud long before they turned against each other. Indeed, both sides of this dispute previously have been so eager to curry favors with the State Department and the foreign policy administrative state and establishment that they had colluded together to silence critics of the Biden administration, and they were eagerly trying to play to the whims of the foreign policy establishment.
On one side, you have Ms. Alinejad, who receives direct compensation from VOA, and indirect compensation from various grant programs by the State Department. In addition, over the years, Ms. Alinejad has actively and successfully connected her allies with these grant programs and has been able to use the taxpayer money to build and finance a network of supporters, particularly a cyber army of advocate accounts on social media.
On the other side, you have NUFDI and its allies, who simply couldn’t resist the temptation of accessing Ms. Alinejad’s taxpayer funded media platform, and her ability to access to the State Department funding. Many of the individuals affiliated with NUFDI view access to State Department and other sources of the US government funding as a primary goal of their activism and have been too eager to join forces and align themselves with Ms. Alinejad over the past few years.
Of course, the State Department funding comes with many strings attached, which includes enabling the foreign policy establishment’s policy choices with regards to Iran, as well as supporting the domestic priorities of the administrative state including providing support to the Democratic party, support of YH President Joe Biden administration, and attacking President Trump during his election campaign. As a case in point, here is a video report that Ms. Alinejad prepared, which serves more as a Hillary Clinton campaign commercial (1).
In case you are wondering why there is no strong outcry against the recent decision by the Biden administration to send $6B to the Islamic Republic, one doesn’t need to look much further than NUFDI and Ms. Alinejad. Indeed, they may pay lip service to criticizing the Biden administration for this decision; however, at the end of the day, they shy away from any strong criticism that may jeopardize their future grants from the State Department.
Unfamiliar observers may have great difficulty understanding this level of chaos. However, it is patently obvious that the main driver of what we are witnessing is an unethical level of competition for government funding and grants and monetary support. Iranian Americans for Liberty has always maintained that these government funding schemes for the Iranian opposition has caused immense harm to the aim of toppling the Islamic Republic regime, as evidenced by the recent wave of public and humiliating accusations and counter-accusations by the some Iranian opposition groups and individuals.
Additionally, Iranian Americans for Liberty would like to highlight its principled stance back in 2021 against Ms. Masih Alinejad's misinformation in pursuit of currying favors from the then ascendant Democratic administration and to distance herself from president Donald Trump's administration (2). In response to IAL’s criticism of Ms. Alinejad, NUFDI's members and affiliates launched a coordinated campaign of character assassination of IAL members and intimidation of its advisory board in 2021. Specifically, Mr. Navid Mohebbi, NUFDI's current director of advocacy, publicly accused IAL of dishonesty and pursuing ulterior motives. NUFDI's stance back then was dictated by a short-sighted pursuit of financial support rather than a principled stance for unity among the opposition.
Putting aside our concerns about the detrimental effects of taxpayer dollars on the Iranian opposition, the accusations that these feuding parties are making about each other are so severe that if confirmed, deserve to be subject of investigation by law enforcement agencies and congressional bodies, as they amount to threats of violence, extortion, and racketeering.
The IAL has serious concerns that when the taxpayer dollars are dedicated to astroturfed activism, it inevitably attracts opportunists (even some with shady current or previous connections to the Islamic Republic regime) who may not have the best interests of the Iranian people in mind and may be willing to take any political position so long as their financial security is guaranteed. Moreover, bureaucracies that are funded by the taxpayer dollars often resist any meaningful congressional oversight or reform, even when they are riddled with corruption, inefficiency, wasteful spending, favoritism, nepotism, and biased performance. This is evidenced by both the State Department and VOA Persian’s hesitation to allow proper congressional oversight and investigation of their spending in the past decade under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Iranian American for Liberty repeats its call for material reduction of the funding by the State Department that goes towards financing astroturfed activism until stronger congressional oversight is in place.
