Giving a voice to the Iranian people's demands for the same rights we enjoy as Americans

OUR MISSION

The National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI) is the voice of the Iranian-American community in Washington; an independent non-profit organization that works tirelessly to shape U.S. policy toward Iran based on human rights, freedom, and democracy.

The Iranian People's Movement (1979–Now)

NUFDI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization made up of Iranian-Americans of diverse backgrounds who closely follow events in their mother country of Iran.

Those events are defined by the Iranian people's ongoing struggle to reclaim Iran from the Islamic Republic and establish freedom, human rights, and democracy in Iran.

What Are the Iranian People Asking For?

Free and Fair Elections

Non-Discrimination

Economic Development

Separation of Church & State

Independent Judiciary & Due Process

Opportunity

Equal Protection Under the Law

Freedom of Speech, Assembly, & Religion

Prosperity

The Iranian people's movement seeks to reestablish peaceful, friendly relations with Iran's neighbors and to have Iran re-engage the community of nations in a manner befitting its rich culture and heritage as a great civilization.

It rejects the regressive notion of Balkanization as a political solution. And it believes that the transition to a secular democratic system must be brought about through civil disobedience and other forms of nonviolent resistance, as advocated for many years by Prince Reza Pahlavi, a consistent and vocal supporter of this movement, and now echoed by many of the most prominent Iranian and Iranian-American political figures, activists, scholars, artists, athletes and other voices.

These are the values we have come to cherish as American citizens, and they are the same values that the people of Iran seek for their own country.

NUFDI strives to empower Iranian-Americans to be a voice for the Iranian people's movement for freedom, human rights, and democracy.

By transmitting the sacrifices and aspirations of the Iranian people to an American audience of policymakers, media, and concerned citizens, it is our hope that we may serve to better position our fellow Americans to understand and support the Iranian people in their struggle to establish a free, democratic Iran.

Meet the Team

Saeed Ganji, Ph.D., Sc.D.

PRESIDENT

Shahpar Razmzan

Senior Advisor

Saeed Ghasseminejad, Ph.D.

DIRECTOR, IRAN PROSPERITY PROJECT

Leyla Bahmany, Ph.D./D.C.L.

GENERAL COUNSEL

Alireza Kiani

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, FEREYDOUN

Andrew Ghalili

POLICY DIRECTOR

Saghi Laghaei

DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Khosro Isfahani

RESEARCH DIRECTOR

Nina Khoshkish

DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Tymahz Toumadje

SENIOR POLICY ANALYST

Nader Sadeghi

POLICY ANALYST

Parmida Barez

Development and Communications Associate

Armita Hooman

RESEARCH ANALYST

Vafa Fanaii

Administrative Assistant

Jeremy Roesner

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Board of Directors

Abtin Shahriari, D.M.D., M.P.H.

Atlanta, GA

Ahmad Emami, M.D.

Fresno, CA

Fariba Bayani, Esq.

Atlanta, GA

Saeed Ganji, Ph.D., Sc.D.

Washington, D.C.

Fereshteh Khatibi

Orange County, CA

Mojgan Hakimi, Ph.D.

Los Angeles, CA

Siamak Namdarian, D.D.S.

Fresno, CA

Advisory Council

Aylene Fallah

Advisory Council member

Washington, D.C.

Shayan Arya

Advisory Council member

Seattle, WA

Mina Noorbakhsh

Washington, D.C.

Shahpour Shiralian

Fresno, CA

Pardis Sabeti, M.D., D.Phil.

Boston, MA

Nazenin Ansari

LONDON, UK

Mohammad R. Jahan-Parvar, Ph.D.

Washington, D.C.

Mahsa Tehrani, M.D.

Washington, D.C.

Maryam Ovissi

Reston, VA

Marjan Greenblatt

New York, NY

Babak Amini

Toronto, CA

Afschineh Latifi, Esq.

New York, NY

Mona Tehrani, Esq.

Reston, VA

Navid Mohebbi

Washington, D.C.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is NUFDI funded?

NUFDI does not receive any government funding whatsoever. It is supported solely by members of the Iranian-American community and allies who support the cause of human rights and democracy in Iran.

How are NUFDI's resources spent?

NUFDI largest expenditure is its staff payroll. Many members of the team have left leading international firms and Washington think tanks to mobilize the Iranian-American community and advocate for the Iranian people's cause and have taken significant salary cuts to work for NUFDI. Despite this, we believe that for a Washington-based advocacy and policy organization, quality work requires a full-time dedication to the cause and thus are proud to—for the first time in our community's history—have an Iranian-American organization with a physical office and a full-time staff in the nation's capital. Furthermore, within its ultimate goal to mobilize the Iranian-American community in support of a human rights and democracy-focused U.S. foreign policy towards Iran, NUFDI has a project-focused approach to our work. NUFDI's resources support its ongoing projects from The Iran Conference to Iran Rising to our historic lawsuit against Ebrahim Raisi to our policy development and research.

Is NUFDI an opposition group?

NUFDI is not an opposition group. It is an Iranian-American civic organization dedicated to engaging and mobilizing the Iranian-American community in support of U.S. foreign policy towards Iran based on human rights and democracy. As such, it does not take positions on some Iran-related political issues such as the country's post-Islamic Republic form of government except that that government and its form should be decided by the Iranian people in a free, fair referendum. For more information on NUFDI's values, read our mission statement.

Is NUFDI a non-profit organization?

The National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI) is a 501(c)4 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Its sister organization, NUFDI Fund, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

What is NUFDI's position on military action?

NUFDI opposes war with Iran. We believe that the path to establishing a stable democracy in Iran and ensuring regional and American national security is non-violent disobedience by the Iranian people, supported by the United States and the international community.

When was NUFDI founded?

NUFDI was initially founded in 2003. Like many other Iranian and Iranian-American organizations its activities were mostly volunteer based. In March of 2020, the organization was re-launched with a new mission and its first full-time staff member. Today, its team continues to grow.

Support Our Work

NUFDI does not receive any government funding. We rely on the support of the Iranian-American community.