Iran International

The University of Arkansas has stripped the head of its Middle East Studies program of the position after she praised Iran’s Supreme Leader and allegedly used university letterhead to support a convicted Iranian war criminal, the New York Post reported.

The university removed political science professor Shirin Saeidi on Friday, the Post reported on Saturday citing a university spokesman.

Lawmakers and a group of Iranian dissidents are demanding further disciplinary action against her, the spokesman added.

Saeidi is accused of using official University of Arkansas letterhead to advocate for the release of Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian prison official convicted in Sweden in 2022 for ordering the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at Gohardasht Prison.

The professor appealed for Nouri’s release using university stationery, raising concerns about misuse of institutional resources, The Post reported citing documents provided by the US-based Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA).

The Post reported that in several posts shared on X in November, the professor praised Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, offering prayers for his safety and describing him as “the leader who kept Iran intact during the Israeli attack,” while also referring to Israel as a “terrorist state” and a “genocidal state.”

A spokesman for the University of Arkansas confirmed to the New York Post that the professor is no longer serving as head of the Middle East Studies program and that the university is investigating her apparent use of official letterhead “in accordance with university policies.”

On Friday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned Saeidi's remarks in an email to the Post, calling them “hate-filled antisemitic venom.”

“Whether she should be fired is a decision for the administration and the UA board,” Huckabee wrote. “But praising the Iranian leader — who calls not only for the slaughter of Jews but also calls for the destruction of America — makes me think this deranged professor would probably be better suited to being given a one-way ticket to Tehran and taking a job of teaching in their hate-infested schools.”

The controversy has drawn political attention in Arkansas. Republican State Representative Mary Bentley told the Post she was “deeply disturbed” by the allegations.

“I can assure you that my constituents do not want their tax dollars being used to support unethical and antisemitic behavior from professors at our public universities,” Bentley said.

The Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists previously organized an online petition urging the university to take action, collecting 3,782 signatures.

AAIRIAA founder and human rights activist Lawdan Bazargan said the case reflects a broader effort by Tehran to shape narratives in Western institutions.

“That is why the Islamic Republic relies on ideologues and useful idiots in Western institutions to launder its image,” the Post quoted Bazargan as saying.

Iranian dissident and journalist Masih Alinejad also criticized the professor, calling on US authorities to prevent what she described as the “infiltration of Islamic Republic apologists" into American academia.

In August, former Iranian nuclear negotiator and senior diplomat turned Princeton academic Hossein Mousavian left the university in what is described by Princeton as retirement, while AAIRIA calls it a dismissal following its two-year campaign aimed at exposing his alleged ties to the Islamic Republic and widespread calls for his dismissal.

Mousavian’s 15-year tenure at Princeton University ended on June 1, according to an "employee retirements" statement by the university dated June 4.