Media Contact

Emad Kiyaei, Director of External Affairs
Mobile: +1 631-371-9292
Email: emad@us-iran.org

History

The American Iranian Council (AIC) was incorporated in the State of New Jersey in 1997 as a [501 C (3)] nonprofit and nonpartisan educational organization to provide research, policy analysis, public education, and community mobilization. AIC seeks to help policy makers and citizens overcome many of the key misunderstandings, misperceptions and mischaracterizations that exist between United States and Iran. 

Mission

The mission of the AIC provides for a sustainable dialogue and a more comprehensive understanding of US-Iran relations. AIC organizes and promotes the Iranian-American community and encourages its participation in these efforts for a more democratic, transparent, mutually respectful, and sustainable relations between the two countries.  

Vision

It is the vision of the AIC that the United States and Iran should and will work together, as their common interests far outweigh their differences. The United States and Iran not only have shared interests, but they also have an ethical obligation to work together for the betterment of both governments and their peoples.  

Accomplishments

AIC has facilitated major breakthroughs in US-Iran relations through AIC events or mediated through the Council. Examples include: 

  • Secretary Madeleine Albright’s historic speech on Iran, when she expressed regret about 1953 coup and past US policy mistakes, lifted sanctions on carpets and food items, and offered Iran a global settlement. Years later, Iran's President Mohammad Khatami would characterize this initiative as a "missed opportunity";

  • Vice President Joe Biden’s and Senator John Kerry’s proposals for dialogue between the US Congress and the Iranian Parliament;

  • Meeting among Speaker Mehdi Karubi and other members of the Iranian parliament and their American counterparts in New York City;

  • US-Iran dialogue over Iraq and the so-called Grand Bargain initiative;

  • The American Iranian Council's presence in Iran under a rare OFAC license;

  • President Obama’s humanitarian attention to Iran’s civilian airline tragedies and his Administration’s agreement to entertain a proposal from Iran to purchase spare parts from the United States

  • Release of Sarah Shourd, the American hiker arrested in Iran, and the continued efforts to free her colleagues, Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal; and

  • Introduction of the Shield Iranian-Americans from Sanctions (SIAS) as a civil right project. 

AIC Leadership

AIC has a prominent board that includes distinguished academics, diplomats, and business leaders. AIC's honorary board includes Secretary Donna Shalala and Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering while its Board of Directors is composed of Senator Bennett Johnson, Ambassador Richard Murphy, Ambassador Charles Freeman and Dr. Fereidun Fesharaki, to name a few.