Allegations Against Mousavian Were Baseless

I was a colleague and collaborator of Seyed Hossein Mousavian during his 15 years as a researcher in the University’s Program on Science and Global Security. During the past five years or so, groups that have been advocating that the U.S. carry out regime change in Iran by force have been maligning Mousavian because he has been advocating for diplomacy as an alternative to war. He also has been maligned by hardliners in Tehran and is currently unable to visit his family there for fear of imprisonment.

The Congressional “investigation” described in the article was actually a repackaging of baseless accusations against Mousavian by the Republican leadership of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the same leadership that attacked and precipitated the resignations of the presidents of Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University for their supposed inadequate efforts to suppress student protests against the war in Gaza in the spring of 2024 — and the same allegations that the Trump administration has used to cut federal funding for university research including Princeton’s.

Those responsible for the political attacks on Mousavian now claim that they have forced his retirement. In fact, I am proud of Princeton University’s administration, which maintained a stiff spine and put no pressure on Mousavian to retire.

For those who may want to know more, my column in The Daily Princetonian debunking a 2022 attack on Mousavian is available online.