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The Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) is an organization in the United States.

According to an article published by NBC in 2013, the organization "inaccurately represented itself as a non-profit" and doesn’t appear in a federal database of such agencies. The OIAC is known to be a front for political arm of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), a listed Foreign Terrorist Organization from 1997 to 2012. The OIAC's office in Washington D.C. is "located right next door to the NCRI office on Pennsylvania Avenue".

The Intercept has described it as part of the MEK's "opaque network" in the United States.

History

The OIAC was founded in 2012 with its present headquarters located in Washington, D.C., United States but it has been working as Iranian American Communities-US since 1997. Majid Sadeghpour is currently the Political Director of the organization.

By February 2015, the OIAC claimed activity in 30 U.S. States.

Activities

Lobbying

According to The New American, the OIAC has spent millions of dollars for lobbying in favor of the MEK. Al-Monitor reports that from January to December 2016, aligned with the NCRI efforts, the OIAC paid Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld law firm $90,000 and is actively pressing the United States Congress to recognize 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners.

Organizing gatherings

The OIAC organized gatherings in front of the United Nations building against President Hassan Rouhani and the White House "in solidarity with protesters in Iran".

Controversy

In 2013, the OIAC paid nearly one-third of the costs for the trip of then-Mayor of San Diego Bob Filner to Paris, France, which totaled $31,363. Filner who attended the annual meetings of the MEK in 2007 and 2011 sponsered by an Iranian-born Colorado real estate broker Mehdi Ghaemi, appeared the event again in his trip. After the OIAC payment was placed under investigation for violation of state law by the City Council, Filner pledged to reimburse the costs.

References

1. ^ "Mayor Under Fire: Filner Says He'll Pay for Paris Trip". NBC San Diego. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2016. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
2. The Terrorist Argument: Modern Advocacy and Propaganda, Brookings Institution Press, 2018, p. 301, ISBN 9780815732198 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
3. Eli Clifton (6 May 2015), "Tom Cotton Allies Himself with the MEK", LobeLog, retrieved 30 March 2018
4. ^ Jack Detsch (12 December 2017), "Trump rhetoric divides Iranian-Americans", Al-Monitor, retrieved 30 March 2018
5. ^ Ali Gharib, Eli Clifton (26 February 2015), "Long March of the Yellow Jackets: How a One-Time Terrorist Group Prevailed on Capitol Hill", The Intercept, retrieved 30 March 2018
6. "Organization Of Iranian American Communities Oiac Inc in W Sacramento, California (CA)". nonprofitfacts.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
7. "Iran is at the heart of radical Islam". thehill.com. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
8. Joe Wolverton (10 May 2015), "Senator Tom Cotton Makes Allies of Radical Marxist Muslims", The New American, retrieved 20 April 2018
9. Protesters Rally Against Iranian President at United Nations by REBECCA GIBIAN, Associated Press; 20 September 2017
10. Demonstrators gather at White House to support Iranian ‘liberty, democracy’; By Dick Uliano, WTOP-FM, 6 January 2018
11. The Organization of Iranian American Communities holds a demonstration across from the White House in solidarity with protesters in Iran, Washington, Jan. 6, 2018
12. Dean Calbreath (28 June 2013), "Filner Visits Iranian Resistance In Paris", The Daily Transcript, KPBS Public Broadcasting, retrieved 30 March 2018

External links

• Official website

• Iranian-American organizations
• 2012 establishments in Washington, D.C.
• People's Mujahedin of Iran