Former Iranian nuclear negotiator and senior diplomat turned Princeton academic Hossein Mousavian has left the university in what is described by Princeton as retirement, while activists call it a dismissal following sustained campaign pressures.
Mousavian’s 15-year tenure at Princeton University ended on June 1, according to an "employee retirements" statement by the university dated June 4.
However, the nonprofit organization Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) says his departure was a result of its two-year campaign aimed at exposing his alleged ties to the Islamic Republic and widespread calls for his dismissal.
In a press release on Saturday, AAIRIA said it organized multiple events, press conferences, and engaged with US legislative bodies to highlight concerns about Mousavian’s background, accusing him of supporting terrorism and anti-Israel propaganda.
The group also called for his deportation and prosecution based on alleged involvement in historical assassinations linked to the Islamic Republic.
AAIRIA describes itself as "a group of former political prisoners in Iran, families of executed political prisoners, human rights activists who seek justice and accountability, and international jurists who have examined the record of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s gross human rights abuses."
Princeton University did not respond to Iran International's request for comment.
On August 10, Mousavian said in a post on his X account he retired at his own request.
"After 15 years of service at Princeton University, I retired at my own request at the end of May 2025. I am deeply grateful to the university officials for their support and especially for their commitment to 'freedom of expression."
Mousavian served as a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist in Princeton's Program on Science and Global Security.
Mousavian was ambassador to Germany when Bonn-based Iranian exile Fereydoun Farrokhzad, a singer and outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic, was murdered in 1992 apparently by agents of the Islamic Republic.
A veteran Iranian commander in March detailed the state's role in his killing, in remarks Mousavian said left him "stunned, amazed, and shocked."
In 2023, several top Republicans, including House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky and now-DOGE Caucus chairman Aaron Bean of Florida, wrote to Princeton with their concerns about Mousavian's tenure.
Several Republican lawmakers wrote an open letter to Princeton in 2023 expressing their concerns over Mousavian's employment.
"A German court found (the Iranian embassy in Germany) served as the headquarters for the planning of the 1992 assassination of four Iranian dissidents," the letter said, referring to the 1994 assassination of four Iranian-Kurdish dissidents in a Berlin restaurant.
"Did Princeton consult with US government officials regarding the hiring of Mousavian?"
“We’re seeing the leadership desperate and flailing away in various ways to try and preserve its control and its hold on power,” he said. “Whether you stand up the defense council, whether you change the name of the currency ... the ship is still sinking.”
Khodorkovsky served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State during the first Trump administration, working closely with the Special Representative for Iran on the administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign.
Born in the Soviet Union, he emigrated to the United States as a child after experiencing life under the communist system. From abroad, he watched the country of his birth unravel — a collapse that, he says, offers lessons for Iran today.
His prediction rests on a convergence of forces the leadership cannot reverse: an economy in freefall, a public that has lost faith in the system, and leaders resorting to cosmetic moves to mask deep structural decay.
Drawing on the lessons of the Soviet collapse, he argued that once cracks appear in an authoritarian system, its fall can come faster than expected.
Iranian officials framing: “Wartime necessity”
Iranian state media has portrayed the council — approved August 3 by the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) under Article 176 of the constitution — as a crucial wartime measure.
Chaired by the president, it includes the heads of the judiciary and parliament, senior military commanders, key ministers, and two representatives of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Veteran lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi called it “necessary given the current wartime situation,” saying it would allow military and defense decisions to be made “in a concentrated manner” during critical moments. Esmaeil Kowsari, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, said it would speed the chain of command and “with timely strikes, suppress threats.”
The revival of such a body — last active during the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq War — follows a 12-day war with Israel in June, during which Iranian military and nuclear facilities were hit by Israeli and US strikes.
Larijani’s return: rebrand, not reboot
Two days after the council’s creation, President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Ali Larijani as SNSC secretary.
Khamenei quickly followed, naming Larijani his personal representative to the body. A political veteran, Larijani previously served as SNSC secretary from 2005 to 2007, was speaker of parliament for over a decade, and has long been an adviser to the Supreme Leader.
Khodorkovsky said Larijani’s appointment will not change the system’s trajectory. “They’re trying to look strong externally, but internally the system is rotting,” he said. “The personnel changes are cosmetic — the fundamentals are the same.”
Mounting internal strain
Iran’s ruling system is buckling under severe economic pressure. The rial has collapsed—dropping from around 300,000 per USD in 2020 to over 1 million in early 2025—losing more than 80 percent of its value. Inflation remains among the highest in the world.
A nationwide truckers’ strike began on May 22, 2025, in Bandar Abbas, a key southern port city on the Persian Gulf, spreading within days to more than 155 cities across all 31 provinces by June 1.
The strike brought key transport routes to a halt and drew public sympathy as a flashpoint of economic and social discontent.
Since the June war with Israel, Iran has seen no major uprisings — only scattered strikes and protests amid a heavy security presence.
Authorities have intensified arrests of activists, expanded surveillance, and deployed security forces in restive provinces to deter gatherings.
Against this backdrop, the truckers’ strike has been the most visible form of unrest, reflecting deep and widespread grievances across the population.
For Khodorkovsky, these are the real forces eroding the state’s foundations — and they cannot be reversed by councils or reshuffles.
“You can change the faces, you can change the names, you can create new institutions,” he said, “but when the people have turned away and the economy has collapsed, the end is only a matter of time.”
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