Voices of Resistance: Iran and the Anti-War Movement

You can sign up to join Code Pink in D.C. November 10th through the 12th at our website, codepink.org. I'm Marcy Winograd, and it's my pleasure to welcome Isabella Javidan, also known as Bella.

She is the communications director for NIAC.

That's the National Iranian American Council.

Welcome to Code Pink Radio, Bella.

Thank you.

I'm so happy to be here.

Happy to talk to you.

Yes, a little bit more background on you.

Bella is an Iranian American human rights and communications professional.

whose work focuses on U.S. foreign policy, war, and militarism, and what's known as the Swana region, that's Southwest Asia and North Africa, a geographic term used as a decolonized alternative to the traditional term Middle East.

At NIACC, Bella Javidan leads communications and media strategy on issues affecting Iranian Americans and U.S.-Iran relations.

Before working at NIAC, she served as director of communications at Physicians for Social Responsibility, working on nuclear weapons policy and disarmament.

Bella holds a degree in human rights from SOAS University of London, an MA in international affairs from American University, and a BA in global studies from the University of Minnesota.

Her work is grounded in a commitment to human rights, decolonization, and challenging the human costs of militarism and U.S. foreign policy.

Wow, that's a lot.

You have a great resume, Bella.

Thank you.

That's so sweet.

Thanks.

So let's go right into it.

Let's start with one of the harder questions.

The right-wing Hoover Institution and other right-wing groups like it will claim that NIAC's policy positions, we're talking about opposing sanctions against Iran, supporting the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, made it controversial.

They claim that the diaspora is not with you or accuses you of acting as an apologist or a lobby for the Iranian government.

your response

yeah uh this is a fear tactic um it's a very common one that we also see among other diasporas who um you know are split because there is no singular diaspora on earth um and that applies to the iranian diaspora we are politically ethnically religiously economically and generationally incredibly diverse so um Yeah, I, you know, there are plenty of people who feel aligned with the former Shah's regime and... and would love to see that return to Iran.

You can sign up to join Code Pink in D.C. November 10th through the 12th at our website, codepink.org. I'm Marcy Winograd, and it's my pleasure to welcome Isabella Javidan, also known as Bella.

She is the communications director for NIAC.

That's the National Iranian American Council.

Welcome to Code Pink Radio, Bella.

Thank you.

I'm so happy to be here.

Happy to talk to you.

Yes, a little bit more background on you.

Bella is an Iranian American human rights and communications professional.

whose work focuses on U.S. foreign policy, war, and militarism, and what's known as the Swana region, that's Southwest Asia and North Africa, a geographic term used as a decolonized alternative to the traditional term Middle East.

At NIACC, Bella Javidan leads communications and media strategy on issues affecting Iranian Americans and U.S.-Iran relations.

Before working at NIAC, she served as director of communications at Physicians for Social Responsibility, working on nuclear weapons policy and disarmament.

Bella holds a degree in human rights from SOAS University of London, an MA in international affairs from American University, and a BA in global studies from the University of Minnesota.

Her work is grounded in a commitment to human rights, decolonization, and challenging the human costs of militarism and U.S. foreign policy.

Wow, that's a lot.

You have a great resume, Bella.

Thank you.

That's so sweet.

Thanks.

So let's go right into it.

Let's start with one of the harder questions.

The right-wing Hoover Institution and other right-wing groups like it will claim that NIAC's policy positions, we're talking about opposing sanctions against Iran, supporting the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, made it controversial.

They claim that the diaspora is not with you or accuses you of acting as an apologist or a lobby for the Iranian government.

your response

yeah uh this is a fear tactic um it's a very common one that we also see among other diasporas who um you know are split because there is no singular diaspora on earth um and that applies to the iranian diaspora we are politically ethnically religiously economically and generationally incredibly diverse so um Yeah, I, you know, there are plenty of people who feel aligned with the former Shah's regime and... and would love to see that return to Iran.