Special Guests

Banality of Shadows in Iran / Guest: NCRI

Faces Emerge from Iran’s Regime, and They’re Uglier Than the Shadows They Cast

The Iranian regime’s terror network is no longer faceless. This Thursday, August 7, 2025, the U.S. Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US) will unveil photos, names, and specific details of the individuals orchestrating Tehran’s global campaign of violence. For years, the mullahs have operated in the shadows, exporting terror through nameless agents. Now, those shadows are being pierced. The world will see who they are—and what they look like when they think no one is watching.

Termed elsewhere as the banality of evil—ordinary faces attached to extraordinary crimes—this disclosure forces the world to confront a hard truth: Iran’s machinery of terror is not some faceless monolith. It is built and operated by people who believe their anonymity shields them from judgment. Sometimes monsters look like normal people. Sometimes they don’t. The world must see them on display, either way.

This revelation comes at a critical moment. On July 31, the United States and 13 allied nations issued a joint statement condemning the Iranian regime’s escalating state-sponsored threats against dissidents and foreign nationals. The NCRI’s new intelligence exposes the machinery behind those threats, revealing not only the agencies involved but also the operatives tasked with intimidation, abduction, and assassination.

Obtained by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) from sources deep inside the regime’s own security apparatus, this information offers unprecedented insight into how Tehran’s terror machine functions—and who is running it. These are not abstract forces of evil; they are identifiable individuals whose photos and names will now be etched into public record.

For decades, the regime has relied on secrecy and deniability. By identifying the men and women behind these plots, the NCRI is tearing away that shield and demanding accountability.

This press conference will map the architecture of Iranian terror from the inside out: the chain of command, the agencies involved, and the global reach of their operations. It will also highlight the courage of those who risked their lives to bring this evidence to light.

Speakers Available:

Mohammad Mohaddessin – Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

Alireza Jafarzadeh – Deputy Director of NCRI

Shahin Gobadi – Nuclear Engineer and member of NCRI

Ali Safavi – Member of NCRI Parliament in Exile

Robert Torricelli  – Former U.S. Senator (D-NJ)

Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad – Iranian American Scholar and Cybersecurity Executive

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan – Associate Dean and Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Baltimore

Dr. Kazem Kazerounian – Dean of College of Engineering; expert on Iran’s Nuclear program

Related Article(s)

Iran: At Least 29 Executions, Including One Woman, from August 3 to August 6 – NCRI

Optional Q&A

  1. How does revealing the photos and names of these operatives change the global understanding of Iran’s terror network?
  2. What parallels do you see between this disclosure and the revelations at Nuremberg about the banality of evil?
  3. How was this intelligence obtained from inside the regime, and what risks did those sources face?
  4. Which agencies and individuals are most directly responsible for orchestrating these terror plots abroad?
  5. How do these findings align with the recent joint statement by the U.S. and its allies condemning Iran’s threats?
  6. What message does this send to the regime’s operatives who believe they can act anonymously?
  7. How does exposing individual accountability help protect Iranian dissidents and foreign nationals targeted by Tehran?
  8. What steps should Western governments take now that these names and faces are known?

ABOUT ALIREZA JAFARZADEH…

Alireza Jafarzadeh serves as the Deputy Director of the Washington Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He is also the author of The Iran Threat (Palgrave MacMillan, New York, 2008).

A recognized expert on Iranian policy, Jafarzadeh has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons. His groundbreaking work in 2002 and 2003 led to the discovery of key illicit nuclear sites in Iran, including the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, the Arak heavy water plant, the Kalaye Electric centrifuge testing facility near Tehran, and the Lashkar Ab’ad laser enrichment facility. These revelations prompted the first-ever inspections of Iranian nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Jafarzadeh is a frequent guest on major television and radio networks, including CBS Evening News, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and France 24. His insights have also been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time, and The Hill.

ABOUT MOHAMMAD MOHADDESSIN…

Mohammad Mohaddessin is the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). NCRI is a coalition of various political tendencies and democratic forces working to establish a free and pluralistic republic based on democratic values.

Mohammad Mohaddessin was born in Qom, Iran, the son of a Grand Ayatollah who was opposed to the regime. He studied both in religious seminary and modern education.

In the 1970s, While he was a student in Iran’s most prestigious Sharif University, in 1975 he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years for his affiliation with the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) and opposition to the shah dictatorship. While in prison he was severely tortured.

Mohaddessin has lectured on numerous international forums on Iranian affairs and has represented the Iranian resistance in many international events and conferences.

He has written extensively on political and religious regional issue in Iran and the region. He is the author of “Islamic Fundamentalism: The New Global Threat”, published in 1993 (Seven Locks Press, Washington) in which he addressed the emerging threat of Islamic fundamentalism in the world.

In addition to many articles and essays, Mr. Mohaddessin has authored several other books, including Enemies of Ayatollahs, Democracy Betrayed and The Unethical Policy.

ABOUT SOONA SAMSAMI…

Soona Samsami is the representative in the United States for Iran’s Parliament-in-exile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

As an activist of gender equality, she has spoken at many conferences and attended many international forums. Her advocacy has led to numerous actionable items for the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human trafficking and violence against women in Iran and UN human rights resolutions on the situation of minorities and youth in Iran.

Samsami has taken part in several press conferences in Washington, DC, and has authored many articles in, and has been interviewed by major media including The New York Times, The Hill, Roll Call, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, C-Span, and CNN. She has spoken at briefings in the United States Congress, and the United Nations. She has also lectured at George Mason University among other universities and colleges. She studied city planning and architecture at Michigan State University.

ABOUT ZOLAL HABIBI…

Zolal Habibi, an Iranian human rights activist and a prominent voice for justice, and women’s rights in Iran. She serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). With over two decades of activity, in recent years she has often appeared in international forums, human rights conferences, and live broadcasts. Zolal’s activism began in her teens, shaped by the loss of her father—a respected Iranian writer and political dissident—who was killed by the regime in 1988.

ABOUT SAFORA SADIDI…

Safora Sadidi is a human rights advocate and a member of the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

Ms. Sadidi, who has lost her father and six members of her family at the hands of the clerical regime, has devoted more than two decades to the Iranian Resistance in the areas of human rights, women’s rights, situation of youth in Iran, and international policy on Iran.

Born in Iran and raised in Denmark after her family fled persecution, Safora combines legal expertise with first-hand experience.

Fluent in Persian, English, Danish, and conversant in German, she is a powerful, articulate, and compassionate voice for human rights and freedom in Iran.

For the last two decades, Safora has actively engaged national parliaments in Europe, particularly Nordic countries, Australia and Canada, across the Nordic, joining them in high-level conferences and forums on the Iranian issue.  She has addressed several international conferences on Iran and has had extensive exchanges with former senior European government officials on Iran.

In addition to her advocacy work, Ms. Sadidi has had presence in both broadcast and print media and shedding light on the plight of the Iranian people through numerous on-camera interviews and contributions.

ABOUT SHAHIN GOBADI…

Shahin Gobadi, a U.S.-educated nuclear engineer, is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile.

An astute observer of Iranian affairs for over three decades, Gobadi is an expert on topics including Iranian state-sponsored terrorism, proxy groups in the Middle East, the Iranian nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, Western policy toward Iran, and internal Iranian affairs.

He has been interviewed by major international media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, BBC, Sky TV, GB News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Reuters, and the Associated Press. Gobadi’s writings have appeared in prominent media across the U.S. and Europe.

ABOUT ALI SAFAVI…

Ali Safavi is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile.

A sociologist by training, Safavi studied and taught at UCLA, California State University Los Angeles, and the University of Michigan. He was an active participant in the anti-Shah student movement in the 1970s in the United States and has been deeply engaged in Iranian affairs ever since.

Safavi has lectured and written extensively on Iran, Iraq, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and Middle Eastern politics. He has appeared in interviews on networks such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, BBC, Sky TV, Newsmax, and France 24. His articles and commentary have been published in leading outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Boston Herald, The Washington Times, and The Financial Times.

ABOUT AMBASSADOR ROBERT JOSEPH…

Ambassador Robert Joseph was the United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation. Prior to this post, Joseph was the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, a position he held until January 24, 2007. He was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Proliferation Strategy at the White House.

Ambassador Joseph is known for being instrumental in creating the Proliferation Security Initiative and as the architect of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. He was also the US chief negotiator to Libya in 2003 who convinced Qaddafi to give up Libya’s WMD programs.

ABOUT ROBERT TORRICELLI…

Senator Robert Torricelli served 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 9th district of New Jersey until January 1997, when he was elected as Democratic Senator from the state of New Jersey.  While in the Congress, he was the leading voice for a free Iran and has been advocate of a free and democratic Iran for the past three decades.

In 1999, he joined the Democratic Leadership as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Senator Torricelli served in the House Foreign Affairs Committee as the chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

Senator Torricelli earned his law degree from Rutgers University and completed a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Before becoming a member of the U.S. Congress, Torricelli served as associate counsel to then-Vice President Walter Mondale.

ABOUT DR. RAMESH SEPEHRRAD…

Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad is a leading Iranian-American scholar, published author, cybersecurity executive, and human rights advocate, known for her tireless efforts to advance a non-nuclear, secular, and democratic republic in Iran. As Chair of the Advisory Board of the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC), she plays a pivotal role in bipartisan majority of congressional advocacy, including support for various house resolutions, which endorses the Iranian people’s aspirations for freedom and Maryam Rajavi’s ten-point plan.

Born in Shiraz, Iran, Ramesh’s commitment to justice is deeply personal. Her family endured brutal persecution under both the Shah’s monarchy and the current theocratic regime. Several relatives were imprisoned, tortured, or executed for their opposition to tyranny—an experience that has shaped her life’s mission to amplify the voices of Iran’s oppressed.

After seeking refuge in the United States in 1985, Dr. Sepehrrad earned a B.S. in Computer Science from SUNY Buffalo, an M.A. in Political Science, and a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. She has also taught graduate courses on conflict, gender, and human rights at George Mason, University of Connecticut where she was inducted as the Distinguished Engineer, and University of Baltimore.

Professionally, she has held senior executive roles in cybersecurity and risk management where she has earned numerous industry awards and recognition.

Through academic rigor, policy engagement, and grassroots mobilization, Dr. Sepehrrad is a compelling voice for democratic change in Iran—rejecting both monarchy and theocracy in favor of a republic rooted in gender equality, human rights and the rule of law.

ABOUT DR. IVAN SASCHA SHEEHAN…

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is a Professor of Public and International Affairs and the Associate Dean of the College of Public Affairs at the University of Baltimore. He has undertaken extensive research on U.S.-Iran Policy and counterterrorism operations.

A well-established authority on Iranian affairs, Sheehan’s work in the past decade has involved both peer-reviewed scholarship and policy-oriented writing on the Islamic Republic of Iran and their democratic political opposition. He has authored several books on the topic. His latest book is titled “The Ayatollah’s Hidden Hand: Tehran’s Covert Campaign to Undermine Its Principal Opposition.”

He frequently speaks on policy-oriented matters in Washington, D.C. and participates in scholarly conferences around the world.

Over the past fifteen years, Dr. Sheehan has addressed diverse audiences from academic forums in Europe and at Harvard Law School to policymakers in the U.S. Congress, the National Press Club, and film premieres for the National Geographic Channel. Dr. Sheehan continues to serve as a subject matter expert and consultant on a range of international conflict issues and public policy matters.

Dr. Sheehan is the author of more than one hundred publications and has appeared in Newsweek, National Review, The National Interest, Foreign Policy, Fox News, U.S. News & World Report, among others.

He served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Boston in the John W. McCormack School of Policy Studies. He previously taught at Bentley College, Tufts University, and George Mason University, after receiving a Ph.D. in 2006.

ABOUT DR. KAZEM KAZEROUNIAN…

Dr. Kazem Kazerounian is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut and served as Dean of the College of Engineering from 2012 to 2024.

He is a member of The Free Iran Scholars Network. A passionate advocate for democracy and human rights, Dr. Kazerounian is also an expert on Iran and the Middle East, particularly regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, and human rights situation in Iran.  He has contributed widely through scholarly articles, invited talks, and media interviews on regional affairs and the democratic movement in Iran.

Nationally, he has held leadership roles with ASEE and ASME, shaping engineering policy and education. His honors include the ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award, AIMBE Fellowship, and induction into the Connecticut Academy of Science & Engineering.

An ASME Fellow, his research spans kinematics, robotics, and biomechanics. He has authored over 160 scholarly works and co-founded AcademicKeys.com and AcademicJournal.com, a professional platform and an online journal for academics.

This material is distributed by Special Guests Publicity LLC on behalf of National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) / Media Strategy Consulting LTD. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

CONTACT: For further details or to arrange the interview, please contact Jerry McGlothlin at 919-437-0001 / Bookings@SeasonalLiving.com

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