Irania. Here's an after-action report on the gathering of Iran pro democracy activists at the White House Thursday (see here for my original post). Michael Ledeen and Amir Abbas Fakhravar, a 30 year old Iranian student activist and former political prisoner, got shut out, because they were 15 minutes later coming from testifying at a Senate Homeland Security and Government Reform committee hearing on Iran's nuclear impasse. Richard Perle, who did attend the White House gathering hosted by the NSC's Elliot Abrams and State's Nicholas Burns, tried to help get them in but the Secret Service at the Eisenhower Building wouldn't budge, those there say. Also among those who attended, Bijan Kian, a Los-Angeles-based Iranian American Republican organizer and businessman who has sought a position on Iran policy in the Bush administration; Manda Zand Ervin, of the Alliance of Iranian Women; Manda Shahbazi, a Los Angeles-based supporter of Fakhravar; Sam Kermanian, a Los Angeles-based Iranian American Jewish community leader and businessman; Rahim Shahbazi, an Iranian Azeri separatist who spoke at an event on Iran’s ethnic minorities at AEI last year, causing a firestorm with what some perceived as anti-Persian comments; an Arab Iranian community activist; and an Iranian Kurdish human rights leader and journalist. Several other Iranian pro-democracy figures, including most notably Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former shah, and Akbar Ganji, a leading Iranian dissident and former political prisoner currently on a US tour, declined the White House invitation. Kermanian summarized for the NY Sun the message from the US administration officials yesterday: "The administration's line was that this was not the policy of the United States to engage in regime change in different countries, even if they did not like the policies of that country. They said they hoped the people of Iran would achieve their goal of a democratic Iran."

Correction: Manda Shahbazi was, along with Fakhravar, delayed coming from his testimony on the Hill, and, while they got past the gate to the Eisenhower building, was not allowed into the meeting by the Secret Service because they were late. Perle and Ledeen were not at the meeting. Apologies for the mistake.

Posted by Laura at July 22, 2006 07:10 AM