Hamid Azimi is the Communications Director for the Iranian American Community of Northern California. Azimi has been actively promoting Human Rights and democratic change in Iran, exposing and combating the Iranian Ayatollahs’ Islamic Fundamentalism. His writings and interviews have been covered by many California based news outlets as well as major national news agencies

From 2003 onwards, the Iranian regime’s influence has spread rapidly across the Middle East. The regime’s foreign policy is ambitious and seeks to expand Iranian influence in order to preserve power and fulfill ideological goals. Regime officials have admitted on record that Iran is fighting across the Middle East so that it doesn’t have to fight at home. While this aggressive, interventionist policy may be suitable for the regime, it is certainly damaging to the subjects of its meddlings and undermines global efforts towards peace and stability in the region.

Hamid Yazdan Panah is an attorney focused on asylum and immigration in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also a human rights activist focused on the Middle East and Iran.

This past week, Reuters reported an exclusive story, entitled “Iran tells West President Rouhani at risk if talks fail: Iranian officials” Javad Zarif, Iran’s crafty Foreign Minister, has continued to sell the idea that the United States must make a quick deal with Iran, or else lose risk losing the “moderation” offered by Rouhani. This report comes amid a strong push by Tehran to finalize a nuclear deal, “or else”. These remarks show just how desperate Iran is for a nuclear deal, and that reform in Iran is a facade used to achieve political ends.