Shirin Saeidi, director of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, was terminated for a post praising the current Iranian regime, reports the New York Post.
In posts shared on X in late November, Saeidi defended the IRGC and praised Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
"The leader who kept Iran intact during the Israeli attack, May god protect you and the Iranian people from the Israeli regime," she wrote, followed by "goodbye, my friend" in Farsi.
In another post, she defended the IRGC and criticized the U.S. designation of the group as a terrorist entity, writing: "We should have spoken up sooner — when the IRGC was placed on a terrorist list, when Hamid Nouri was kidnapped based on lies in memoirs."
Saeidi also used Arkansas letterhead to provide support for Hamid Nouri during his criminal trial in Sweden.
Nouri last year was found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to life in prison.
A spokesman for the university said the school was investigating her apparent use of the letterhead "in accordance with university policies."
Saeidi’s termination comes two weeks after the Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) started a petition on Change.org calling for the university to remove her from her position.
Her actions, the post said, have "severely undermined the credibility of the University of Arkansas by violating fundamental academic and ethical norms, including honesty in research, accuracy in scholarship, protection of human subjects, integrity in professional conduct, and respect for survivors of mass atrocities."
The petition had collected 3,800 signatures as of Saturday morning.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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