Khosrow Semnani
Industrialist, Community Leader, and Philanthropist
Watch Mr. Semnani on the “Engaging the Iranian-American Community” at The Iran Conference, here.
Khosrow B. Semnani is an Iranian-American industrialist, community leader, and philanthropist based in Salt Lake City. He is the founder of Envirocare (now Energy Solutions), the first privately-owned low-level nuclear waste disposal facility in the United States, which he sold in 2004. Today his business, S.K. Hart Management, LLC, manages a diversified global investment portfolio.
In 1993, Khosrow and Ghazaleh Semnani founded the Semnani Family Foundation to provide humanitarian relief, with a focus on healthcare, poverty, and disaster relief. The Foundation is active in the United States and around the globe, working with other non-profits and faith-based organizations. Some of this work includes the establishment of the Maliheh Free Clinic, the Gamar Refugee Resources, and the Utah Muslim Civic League. The Foundation has partnered with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen, with NGOs working to protect Myanmar’s Rohingya minority, and with NGOs providing emergency relief due to Covid-19 in South Africa as well as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.
As an Iranian-American, Semnani has been at the forefront of efforts to advance the civil, economic, and environmental rights of the Iranian people. His work with Utah Governor Gary Herbert, led to that state to pass a resolution calling for friendship and peace with the Iranian people, not the regime. Former Sen. Orrin Hatch has also consulted with Semnani on Iranian issues, trying to find ways to help Iran change while protecting the innocent Iranian victims of the Islamic Republic.
Semnani has warned of the dangers of an Iran war. His publications include “The Ayatollah’s Nuclear Gamble: The Human Cost of Military Strikes Against Iran (2012).” In it, he documents the human costs of military strikes on Iran’s nuclear installations. In his latest report, “Where is My Oil? Corruption in Iran’s Oil and Gas Sector (2018),” Semnani quantifies the cost of corruption in Iran and examines the humanitarian impact of “corruption by design” with a focus on the importance of reclamation of Iran’s natural resources for the benefit of the Iranian people.
In a recent op-ed, Semnani calls for a new Iran strategy that looks beyond the mantra of sanctions and strikes—a strategy based on supporting the Iranian people’s right to hold a referendum to chart a new future for Iran and its relations with the United States and the rest of the world.