H. Res. 430 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

June 5, 2007. 

Whereas Haleh Esfandiari, Ph.D., holds dual citizenship in 

the United States and Iran; 

Whereas Dr. Esfandiari taught Persian language and literature for many years at Princeton University, where 

she inspired untold numbers of students to study the rich 

Persian language and culture; 

Whereas Dr. Esfandiari is a resident of the State of Maryland and the Director of the Middle East Program at the 

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 

Washington, D.C. (referred to in this preamble as the 

‘‘Wilson Center’’); 

Whereas, for the past decade, Dr. Esfandiari has traveled to 

Iran twice a year to visit her ailing now-93-year-old 

mother; 

Whereas, in December 2006, on her return to the airport 

during her last visit to Iran, Dr. Esfandiari was robbed 

by three masked, knife-wielding men, who stole her travel 

documents, luggage, and other effects; 

Whereas, when Dr. Esfandiari attempted to obtain replacement travel documents in Iran, she was summoned to an 

interview by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence; 
2 

•HRES 430 EH 

Whereas Dr. Esfandiari was interrogated by the Ministry of 

Intelligence for seven to eight hours per day; 

Whereas the questioning by the Ministry of Intelligence focused on the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center; 

Whereas Dr. Esfandiari answered all questions to the best of 

her ability, and the Wilson Center also provided extensive 

information to the Ministry in a good faith effort to aid 

Dr. Esfandiari; 

Whereas Lee Hamilton, former United States Representative 

and president of the Wilson Center, has written to Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to call his attention 

to Dr. Esfandiari’s dire situation; 

Whereas Mr. Hamilton repeated that the Wilson Center’s 

mission is to provide forums to exchange views and opinions and not to take positions on issues, nor try to influence specific outcomes; 

Whereas the lengthy interrogations of Dr. Esfandiari by the 

Ministry of Intelligence of Iran stopped on February 14, 

2007, but she heard nothing for ten weeks and was denied her passport; 

Whereas, on May 7, 2007, Dr. Esfandiari was summoned to 

the Ministry of Intelligence and taken immediately to 

Evin prison, where she was arrested and is currently 

being held; 

Whereas Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has implicated Dr. 

Esfandiari and the Wilson Center in advancing what it 

alleges is the United States Government’s aim of a ‘‘soft 

revolution’’ in Iran; 

Whereas Parnaz Azima holds dual citizenship in the United 

States and Iran; 
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•HRES 430 EH 

Whereas Ms. Azima is a journalist for Radio Farda; 

Whereas the Iranian Government confiscated the passport of 

Ms. Azima when she arrived in Iran to visit her ill mother in January of 2007; 

Whereas the Iranian authorities have interrogated Ms. Azima 

on multiple occasions; 

Whereas Ms. Azima’s attorney was told in April 2007 that 

she would be detained in Iran for at least two years or 

more; 

Whereas social scientist Kian Tajbakhsh was arrested in midMay by Iranian security officials while consulting for the 

Open Society Institute, which runs humanitarian programs in Iran; 

Whereas Mr. Tajbakhsh holds dual citizenship in the United 

States and Iran; 

Whereas Mr. Tajbakhsh was retained by the Open Society Institute as a consultant to facilitate public health, humanitarian assistance, and urban planning projects that were 

undertaken openly and with the knowledge of the Iranian 

Government; 

Whereas on May 31, 2007, a State Department spokesman 

announced that California businessman Ali Shakeri, who 

holds dual citizenship in the United States and Iran, had 

been arrested approximately ten days earlier; 

Whereas Mr. Shakeri serves on the board of University of 

California at Irvine’s Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, a 

research institution that seeks to promote reconciliation 

and sustainable peace in areas of international conflict; 
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•HRES 430 EH 

Whereas Mr. Shakeri’s arrest occurred as he sought to leave 

the country after having visited his ill mother, who 

passed away during his stay; 

Whereas reports indicate that a fifth dual American-Iranian 

citizen, who has thus far remained anonymous, has also 

been imprisoned unjustly by Iranian authorities; 

Whereas the Iranian Government has yet to produce evidence 

of wrongdoing by any of these individuals to justify its 

actions toward them; and 

Whereas Dr. Esfandiari, Ms. Azima, and Mr. Tajbakhsh have 

been charged with espionage and, if convicted, face execution: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That Iran should immediately and unconditionally release dual Iranian-American citizens Dr. Haleh 

Esfandiari, Ms. Parnaz Azima, Mr. Kian Tajbakhsh, Mr. Ali 

Shakeri, and a fifth unnamed individual also being detained 

against his will, replace their lost travel documents, cease its 

tactics of harassment, and permit them to leave Iran. 

Attest: 

Clerk.