The London-based TV station ‘Iran International’ and the news website ‘Semafor’ sent shockwaves through Europe and America in September when they revealed that an influential organization known as the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), which had consistently lobbied and advised EU governments and the European Parliament, was in fact fashioned and directed by Tehran, stirring profound implications for global diplomacy and security. Based on an avalanche of leaked emails, the two news organizations showed how the IEI had been created by the mullahs’ regime in 2014 “to improve Tehran’s image abroad.” So called ‘experts’ from the IEI had consistently peddled a misleading narrative designed by the mullahs, while also demonizing the main democratic opposition movement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its main component the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).

The leaked emails exposed how the theocratic regime sought to use the IEI to build international ties with influential academics and researchers, penetrating governments, think tanks and advisory groups at the highest level and spreading the regime’s propaganda in the Western media. They revealed the disturbing fact that European governments and institutions were relying on analyses and recommendations for their policy on Iran provided by these IEI experts.The emails unmasked the Iranian regime's covert initiative to advance Tehran's interests, including its nuclear program, while diverting attention from its repugnant human rights record. The IEI experts listed in the emails were astounding. Emails dating back to the formation of the IEI in 2014 showed how Saeed Khatibzadeh, a senior advisor to former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, worked to meticulously cultivate relationships........

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