Yale hosts controversial speaker Trita Parsi accused of promoting Iranian regime interests

FIRST ON FOX: Trita Parsi, a arguable fig among the Iranian American community, volition beryllium speaking astatine an lawsuit hosted by the John Quincy Adams Society astatine Yale University connected Thursday, sparking concerns arsenic tensions successful Iran proceed to rise.

Shay Khatiri, a elder chap astatine the Yorktown Institute, grew up successful Northern Iran and spent clip surviving successful the nation’s superior of Tehran. Khatiri didn’t clasp backmost erstwhile discussing his presumption connected Parsi’s messaging, telling Fox News Digital the Yale chapter’s talker faced accusations of lobbying for policies that benefitted the regime. 

"[Parsi] founded this radical called the National Iranian American Council, NIAC," Khatiri explained. "That was truly a lobbying radical to beforehand lifting sanctions and what would yet go the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action oregon the Iran atomic woody that President Obama reached with the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Demonstrators pain pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei extracurricular the Iranian embassy during a rally successful enactment of nationwide protests successful Iran, successful London, Jan. 12, 2026.  (Toby Melville/Reuters)

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"There has been immense suspicion among the Iranian diaspora and broader overseas argumentation assemblage successful Washington, D.C. that Parsi and his radical person been lobbying connected behalf of unofficially lobbying and promoting the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Khatiri told Fox.

The Yorktown institute chap went connected to explicate that helium believes the "talking points" utilized by Parsi are filled with disinformation. 

"[Parsi says that] the protesters are truly not that peaceful, and they are violent, and helium omits the discourse that it's ever the Islamic Republic that initiates unit and, defensively, protesters respond to it, oregon that the protests are truly not that cohesive, that they deficiency a leadership, which is besides not true," Khatiri added. "The protesters person been chanting the sanction of Reza Pahlavi, the lad of the exiled crown prince of Iran."

Demonstrators pain a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally successful enactment of anti-government protests successful Iran, successful Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.  (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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The Quincy Institute pushed backmost astatine the backlash, saying the lawsuit is an accidental for "students to travel wrong and articulation the conversation." 

"We’re talking astir a azygous seminar astir the Monroe Doctrine and, much generally, astir the principles of Realism and Restraint," Jessica Rosenblum, manager of communications astatine Quincy Institute, told Fox News Digital.

Parsi is co-founder and enforcement vice president of the Quincy Institute.

"It is simply a shame that, alternatively than engaging successful substantive conversations astir topics astatine the forefront of the news, a fistful of protesters are resorting to the aforesaid cancel civilization tactics that astir of america had hoped would nary longer plague assemblage campuses."

IRAN WILL RETALIATE 'WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE' IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS

The federation of Iran has been nether duress since December erstwhile protesters roseate up against the Iranian authorities arsenic the Middle Eastern state faces economical disparity.

The protests turned deadly arsenic reports amusement Iranian information forces utilizing lethal unit against the protesters.

Drawing connected accounts from doctors operating successful the region, The Sunday Times reports that a reviewed appraisal estimates Iranian information forces person killed astatine slightest 16,500 protesters and injured much than 330,000.

"Parsi has been saying that if you privation to person a caller enactment successful Iran, determination are radical wrong the strategy you tin enactment with," Khatiri explained. "Which is, according to the Iranian diaspora and the Iranian protesters, an unacceptable outcome."

Yale has faced mounting disapproval for what opponents picture arsenic a left-leaning ideological climate, peculiarly connected overseas argumentation and nationalist information issues. (Getty Images)

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Yale University did not respond to Fox News Digital’s petition for comment, but the assemblage has besides faced disapproval implicit a left-leaning bias that reports and respective studies bespeak astatine the Ivy League university.

A January study from Yale Daily News that analyzed the governmental donations of professors showed that of the 1,099 donations made by professors to national governmental campaigns and partisan groups, not 1 of the donations was made to a Republican. 

Separately, a survey by the Buckley Institute recovered that 27 of the 43 undergraduate departments astatine the Ivy League schoolhouse had nary Republican module members.

A study revealed that 0% of the governmental donations made by professors successful 2025 went to Republicans.  (Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"From Obama’s weakness and giveaway of an Iran woody to Biden’s repeated capitulations to the Mullahs, Democrats person repeatedly failed to clasp Tehran panic accountable oregon adjacent basal up for the millions of Iranians warring for their freedom," Congressman Darrell Issa told Fox News Digital. 

"This isn’t a adjacent call," Issa added.

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Last week, President Donald Trump said "it’s clip to look for caller enactment successful Iran," and has defended the protests that service to extremity the regime.

Fox News Digital reached retired to the John Quincy Adams Society astatine Yale University and Parsi but did not person responses.

Preston Mizell is simply a writer with Fox News. Story tips tin beryllium sent to [email protected] and connected X @MizellPreston