As tensions in Iran continue to escalate, a planned event at Yale University featuring Trita Parsi is drawing significant attention and concern. Hosted by the John Quincy Adams Society, Parsi’s upcoming speech has stirred controversy, particularly within the Iranian American community.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Shay Khatiri, a senior fellow at the Yorktown Institute with roots in Northern Iran and experience living in Tehran, expressed his concerns regarding Parsi’s past advocacy. Khatiri did not mince words, labeling Parsi’s messaging as problematic and suggesting that his activities have historically aligned with the interests of the Iranian regime.

“Parsi founded the National Iranian American Council, known as NIAC,” Khatiri explained. “This group was effectively a lobbying entity aimed at promoting the lifting of sanctions, which eventually contributed to the formation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal, brokered under President Obama with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Adding to the controversy, Khatiri highlighted the pervasive suspicion among the Iranian diaspora and within the foreign policy circles of Washington, D.C. “There is a widespread belief that Parsi and his organization have been lobbying unofficially to further the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he stated.

Meanwhile, images of demonstrators burning pictures of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Iranian embassy in London underscore the broader unrest, as protests in Iran garner international attention. The event at Yale, set against this backdrop, promises to be one of both academic interest and heightened scrutiny.

The Yorktown institute fellow went on to explain that he believes the “talking points” used by Parsi are filled with disinformation. 

“[Parsi says that] the protesters are really not that peaceful, and they are violent, and he omits the context that it’s always the Islamic Republic that initiates violence and, defensively, protesters respond to it, or that the protests are really not that cohesive, that they lack a leadership, which is also not true,” Khatiri added. “The protesters have been chanting the name of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the exiled crown prince of Iran.”

Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.  (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The Quincy Institute pushed back at the backlash, saying the event is an opportunity for “students to come inside and join the conversation.” 

“We’re talking about a single seminar about the Monroe Doctrine and, more generally, about the principles of Realism and Restraint,” Jessica Rosenblum, director of communications at Quincy Institute, told Fox News Digital.

Parsi is co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute.

“It is a shame that, rather than engaging in substantive conversations about topics at the forefront of the news, a handful of protesters are resorting to the same cancel culture tactics that most of us had hoped would no longer plague university campuses.”

The nation of Iran has been under duress since December when protesters rose up against the Iranian regime as the Middle Eastern country faces economic disparity.

The protests turned deadly as reports show Iranian security forces using lethal force against the protesters.

Drawing on accounts from doctors operating in the region, The Sunday Times reports that a reviewed assessment estimates Iranian security forces have killed at least 16,500 protesters and injured more than 330,000.

“Parsi has been saying that if you want to have a new leadership in Iran, there are people within the system you can work with,” Khatiri explained. “Which is, according to the Iranian diaspora and the Iranian protesters, an unacceptable outcome.”

Yale has faced mounting criticism for what opponents describe as a left-leaning ideological climate, particularly on foreign policy and national security issues. (Getty Images)

Yale University did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but the university has also faced criticism over a left-leaning bias that reports and several studies indicate at the Ivy League university.

A January report from Yale Daily News that analyzed the political donations of professors showed that of the 1,099 donations made by professors to federal political campaigns and partisan groups, not one of the donations was made to a Republican. 

Separately, a study by the Buckley Institute found that 27 of the 43 undergraduate departments at the Ivy League school had no Republican faculty members.

A report revealed that 0% of the political donations made by professors in 2025 went to Republicans.  (Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“From Obama’s weakness and giveaway of an Iran deal to Biden’s repeated capitulations to the Mullahs, Democrats have repeatedly failed to hold Tehran terror accountable or even stand up for the millions of Iranians fighting for their freedom,” Congressman Darrell Issa told Fox News Digital. 

“This isn’t a close call,” Issa added.

Last week, President Donald Trump said “it’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” and has defended the protests that serve to end the regime.

Fox News Digital reached out to the John Quincy Adams Society at Yale University and Parsi but did not receive responses.

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston