A former University of Arkansas professor, Shirin Saeidi, is reportedly under FBI investigation following accusations of making threats against an anti-regime activist. Lawdan Bazargan, whose group Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) exposed alleged plagiarism in Saeidi's academic work and her support for the Iranian regime, has been the target of these alleged threats.
In a Persian-language post on X, verified by The Post, Saeidi stated, "Lawdan Bazargan, you are absolutely finished. I am coming after you with an army… Lawdan, we will do something to you that will be recorded in history." Bazargan reported that she has also received threatening messages from strangers since Saeidi began targeting her publicly, stating, "I feel genuinely unsafe."
Bazargan also expressed concern that the Iranian regime might target her through "third-party criminals or organized-crime networks." In an August 28 letter to the FBI, she detailed her worries about these potential threats.
Allegations against Saeidi extend to potentially threatening to find and desecrate the grave of Bazargan's brother, Bijan Bazargan, who was executed by the Islamic Republic in 1988. Saeidi reportedly submitted a letter on University of Arkansas letterhead in 2025 supporting Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian prison official convicted in Sweden for his role in the 1988 massacre.
AAIRIA has also prompted Cambridge University to investigate Saeidi's PhD thesis. Activists accuse Saeidi of fabricating interviews with victims of the Iranian regime and committing other ethical breaches. Saeidi acknowledged the Cambridge investigation in an August 14 Instagram video, calling it a "smear and hate campaign" and claiming she had submitted documentation a year prior to refute the accusations.
In the same video, Saeidi drew a parallel to British professor Jason Arday, who faced a similar investigation at Cambridge for alleged plagiarism and subsequently died by suicide. Saeidi did not respond to requests for comment. A GoFundMe campaign for Saeidi has reportedly raised over $15,000.