Akbar Atri

Akbar Atri is a former Iranian student activist who is currently a member of the latest incarnation of Committee on the Present Danger. His membership in the central committee of Takhim Vahdat, Iran's largest student democratic organization, was cancelled due to his association with Neocons and right-wing US congressmen.

On March 2, 2006 Atri and Ali Afshari were invited to give a talk on human rights and democracy in Iran at a panel discussion organized by Rick Santorum and Senator Joe Lieberman in U.S. Capitol. The event was sponsored by The Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Iranian Students for Democracy and Human Rights.

Atri is a proponent of US backed regime-change in Iran. In the Journal of International Security Affairs he writes:

The Iranian regime is not a reliable and stable government to negotiate with in good faith. The main reason is that its identity, in large part, derives from opposition to the United States. “Dialogue,” therefore, is not only futile; it is construed as a sign of weakness in Tehran.

Regime change is the only answer. The Iranian people are ready to do their part, if the United States and other democratic countries are ready to stand with them.

Affiliations

• Committee on the Present Danger
• Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs - Atri writes for its flagship journal.