Cambridge, MA — The National Iranian American Council (NIAC ), Peace Action Education Fund, Just Foreign Policy and Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund (MAPA EF) strongly condemn the wave of death threats and coordinated online harassment campaigns targeting organizers, panelists, and partners of the upcoming discussion, “Iran, the U.S., and Israel: How Did We Get Here” featuring NIAC President Jamal Abdi, journalist Negar Mortazavi, and author Stephen Kinzer.
These death threats have created a credible and immediate safety risk. As a result, organizers decided to shift the event from an in-person gathering in Cambridge to a virtual format.
These systematic attacks fit into a well-documented and increasingly aggressive disinformation and intimidation campaign, driven by bot networks, real and artificial accounts, that promote violent rhetoric and seek to criminalize peaceful advocacy and public discourse.
This pattern mirrors influence operations which has been extensively reported on by major investigative outlets, including Haaretz, The New York Times, Citizen Lab, Social Forensics, and Politico. Similar campaigns of harassment and manipulation have been traced to entities linked to the Israeli government, supporters of Pahlavi, and networks seeking violent foreign-backed military efforts inside Iran.
NIAC, MAPA, Just Foreign Policy and Peace Action call for:
- A federal investigation into the sources and coordination of these violent threats.
- A public reaffirmation by civic and academic institutions that free speech and safe spaces for open debate must remain protected, even amid geopolitical controversy.
These disinformation and violent intimidation campaigns are an urgent civil liberties issue for anyone seeking to engage in the U.S.-Iran policy debate in America. They aim to suppress dissenting, anti-interventionist voices and shrink the space for critical public conversation on U.S. foreign policy toward Iran at a moment of escalating tension, when U.S. military assets in the region exceed levels seen during the First and Second Gulf Wars.
Of immediate concern are emails and online posts explicitly threatening to carry out violence at or after the scheduled event. One threat specifically referenced “members embedded” in the event and warned of “irreversible consequences” including “loss of lives” if the program were to proceed. But this escalation is not an isolated incident. A website called “Mercenary Finder” (Mozdoryab) has launched what functions as a database of individuals supposedly affiliated with the Iranian regime and which functions as a Canary Mission–style operation, despite absolutely no evidence of its claims. The coordinated nature of the attacks, alongside doctored imagery and AI-generated content, reflects a transnational disinformation and threat ecosystem.
The accusations directed at NIAC are false, malicious, and dangerous. NIAC is a U.S.-based nonprofit advocating for diplomacy and human rights funded entirely by Iranian American community supporters and allies. Both NIAC and MAPA EF are American civil society organizations that work on behalf of their communities here in the United States, in their mission to promote peace, justice, and rational foreign policy through public education and civic engagement.
Cole Harrison, Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund
MAPA EF supports self-determination in all countries including Iran. It’s our view that Iranians alone should determine the government of their country. The U.S. government should have no role in deciding the future of Iran. President Trump should stop threatening to attack Iran, end US sanctions on Iran which have greatly damaged Iran’s economy and hurt its people. Supporters of U.S.-led regime change in Iran have launched a massive online attack against Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund with the intention of disrupting our expert panel on US/Iran/Israel relations. These cowardly attacks are intended to suppress our voice and we will not be deterred
NIAC President Jamal Abdi
Each time there’s a push for U.S. military action abroad, we see coordinated efforts to intimidate and silence organized anti-war voices. What has happened with this event was no exception. When local organizers face misinformation, harassment, and even death threats for advocating peace, we should all be paying attention to what that means. People in a democracy should be able to discuss war, foreign policy, and America’s role in the world without fearing for their safety—without death threats or coordinated online attacks. It’s telling that some who claim to fight for democracy in Iran resort to silencing discourse here at home.
Join the event on Friday, January 30 at 3pm Eastern time. A recording of the event will be posted afterwards at https://www.youtube.com/@MassPeaceAction.
