Arkansas Professor Investigated for Academic Fraud Amid Pro-Iran Allegations

A University Professor's Controversial Tenure and Academic Allegations

A professor from the University of Arkansas has found herself at the center of a growing controversy after being removed from her position due to her perceived support for the Iranian regime. The situation has taken an unexpected turn as she is now under investigation for potential academic fraud.

Shirin Saeidi, who was previously the director of the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies, was removed last week after it was revealed that she used the university’s letterhead to write a letter of support for a convicted Iranian war criminal. This incident has sparked a broader examination of her academic work, particularly her 2022 PhD dissertation titled “Women and The Islamic Republic: How Gendered Citizenship Conditions the Iranian State.” The publisher of her thesis, Cambridge University Press, is currently investigating allegations of fabrication and unauthorized use of material.

A US-based Iranian dissident group, Alliance Against the Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA), claims they have uncovered patterns of misuse of survivor testimony and unauthorized claims of interviews with former political prisoners. Among those whose testimonies were reportedly used without permission is Maryam Nouri, who is based in Germany. According to AAIRIA, Nouri alleges that Saeidi incorporated parts of her memoir, “In Search of Liberation,” into her dissertation without her consent.

“I was genuinely shocked by the extent of fabrication, fraud, and dishonesty,” said Nouri in an email interview with The Post.

“For more than 40 years, a regime that crawled out of the depths of hell has wrapped its claws around Iran and crushed human life. Prisoners are caught in those claws, and it tears their lives apart. They shredded my husband and thousands of others inside their prisons. Now, Shirin Saeedi has tried to sharpen the claws of that same regime, using her university positions to tear apart, once again, the images and testimonies I worked to preserve.”

Nouri was imprisoned in 1985 when she was pregnant. She was forced to deliver her son while incarcerated, according to her account.

Nouri also sent a letter to Cambridge University Press, complaining about what she called the fraudulent use of her story. A spokesperson for the company told The Post that they are investigating these serious allegations.

Saeidi did not respond to a request for comment for this story from The Post.

Saeidi was reprimanded by the school last week for using its letterhead to appeal for the release of Hamid Nouri, who is not related to Maryam Nouri. He was convicted by a Swedish court in 2022 of ordering the execution of thousands of political prisoners at Gohardasht Prison in 1988, according to AAIRIA, which provided a copy of Saeidi’s letter to The Post.

In posts shared on X in November, Saeidi praised Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offering prayers for his protection and noting that he is “the leader who kept Iran intact during the Israeli attack, May god protect you,” referencing the attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 by Hamas terrorists. She has also referred to Israel as a “terrorist state” and a “genocidal state” on X.

Since The Post’s story about her last week, Saeidi has claimed that the University of Arkansas has infringed upon her freedom of speech in a nearly three-hour rant online. She alleged that the school’s actions in removing her from her administrative position were taken from a “Zionist lobby playbook.”

Saeidi’s case was also covered by Islamic Republic-affiliated media outlets in Iran, which falsely claimed that she was removed from her position as head of the Middle Eastern Studies department for her tweets about Israel.