Watertown Man Acted As Secret Agent Of Iranian Government: FBI

WATERTOWN, MA — The FBI arrested a man in his Watertown home on Monday and charged him with acting and conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the Iranian government, in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

According to the criminal complaint which was unsealed on Tuesday, Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi tried to influence American politics by pitching himself for years as a neutral and objective expert on Iran, but the FBI said he was working for the Iranian government.

According to the FBI, Afrasiabi is a citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Since at least 2007 to the present, Afrasiabi has been secretly employed by the Iranian government and paid by Iranian diplomats assigned to the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations in New York City, according to the complaint. He has been paid approximately $265,000 in checks drawn on the IMUN’s official bank accounts since 2007 and received health insurance through the IMUN’s employee health benefit plans since at least 2011, according to the complaint.

The complaint claims Afrasiabi lobbied a U.S. congressman and the U.S. Department of State to advocate for policies favorable to Iran, counseled Iranian diplomats concerning U.S. foreign policy, made television appearances to advocate for the Iranian government’s views on world events, and authored articles and opinion pieces espousing the Iranian government’s position on various matters of foreign policy — all while working for the Iranian government without being registered with the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Our arrest of Kaveh Afrasiabi makes it clear that the United States is not going to allow undeclared agents of Iran to operate in our country unchecked. For more than a decade, Mr. Afrasiabi was allegedly paid, directed, and controlled by the Government of Iran to lobby U.S. government officials, including a Congressman; and to create and disseminate information favorable to the Iranian government,” stated FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Joseph Bonavolonta. “The FBI will continue to do everything it can to uncover these hidden efforts and hold accountable those who work for our adversaries to the detriment of our national security.”

If convicted of both charged offenses, Afrasiabi faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.