FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASE April 4, 2024
Professors to Biden: Critical Shift on Iran Policy Needed for Regional Stability
In a demonstration of unity and purpose, hundreds of esteemed professors from universities across the United States have extended their 2022-2023 initiative, emphatically urging President Joe Biden to address the critical importance of formulating the correct policy towards Iran. This collective action underscores the escalating crisis in the Middle East since October 7th, which has dramatically exacerbated regional conflicts. The academicians’ letter to President Biden states, “We assert that the real power to sever the ‘heads of the snake’ in Tehran and bring about a just and lasting peace to the Middle East lies with the Iranian people.”
The signatories, comprising American Nobel laureates, Templeton Laureates, members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and recipients of numerous prestigious accolades, call on the United States to unequivocally stand in solidarity with the Iranian people. They emphasize the importance of supporting the Iranian people’s right to self-defense and their aspirations to establish a democratic, secular republic.
The signatories decry the regime’s decades-long tactic of wielding violence to cement its hegemony and propagate a toxic ideology across the region. CalTech Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics, Dr. Morteza Gharib, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, states, “The situation in the Middle East is at a boiling point. The United States, along with its allies, must take a decisive stance in support of the Iranian people’s rightful struggle for freedom and a secular republic.”
Dr. Soolmaz Abooali, faculty at George Mason University and a graduate of the Carter School of Peace, a 14-time US Champion, and a four-time World Champion in Traditional Karate, adds, “The oppressive tactics of the Iranian regime have inflicted untold suffering on the region, especially on women and girls. The United States must lead by example, adopting a resolute stance against the regime to empower the Iranian people’s pursuit of liberty and self-determination.”
Professor Hossein Sadeghpour, Professor and Director of the Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics at Harvard University, emphasizes, “The international community must not overlook the enduring courage of the Iranian people. Their relentless quest for a democratic and free Iran ought to be supported in all its manifestations.”
Echoing the momentum of earlier campaigns, the recent initiative spearheaded by Professor Kazem Kazerounian, Dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Connecticut, builds on the 2022-2023 effort that attracted the backing of over 4,400 university faculty members. He adds, “My colleagues and I from across the United States are advocating for a decisive stance on Tehran’s regime. To date, U.S. policies have not achieved a peaceful and prosperous Middle East. The time for a change in policy towards Iran, addressing the head of the snake in Tehran, is long overdue.”
For more information contact Prof. Kazerounian: Kazemkaz@gmail.com