Mission to UN Blasts FBI Arrest of Iranian Scientist

UNITED NATIONS (Kayhan Intl.) -- Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations has strongly condemned the U.S. arrest of Iranian political scientist and author Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi on "baseless charges”, saying it is in line with the hostile policies of the outgoing Trump administration against the Iranians.
"It is unfortunate to hear of the arrest of Dr. Afrasiabi on spurious charges, in the waning hours of the Trump administration, which is well-known for its anti-Iranian bigotry and bias,” Alireza Miryousefi, the mission’s spokesman, said.
Afrasiabi, who has been a legal resident of the United States for more than 35 years, was arrested at his home in Watertown, Massachusetts Monday on trumped-up charges of acting and conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of Tehran.
He has taught at Boston University and also been a visiting scholar at Harvard 30 years ago and at Berkeley from 2000-2001.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General John Demers alleged that Afrasiabi "was actually a secret employee of the government of Iran and the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations” in New York City since at least 2007.
Miryousefi strongly rejected the claim. "Dr. Afrasiabi has not been working as an agent of the Mission and only as a university professor, and an expert on international relations.”
Miryousefi added that the 63-year-old Afrasiabi "has provided consultations to the Mission on international issues and his working relationship with us has been open and fully transparent since the beginning.”

U.S. authorities have claimed that Afrasiabi worked to influence public opinion in the United States on behalf of Iran in news articles and during appearances with U.S. news media.
They said he also lobbied a U.S. congressman and the State Department to adopt policies favorable to Tehran, and counseled Iranian diplomats concerning U.S. foreign policy.
Afrasiabi made an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on Tuesday. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of charges.