Punished by the U.S. and Persecuted by Iran
Iranian Americans Have Thrived Since Fleeing the Revolution, but Their Freedoms Are Now Restricted
Ever since the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79, Iranian American immigrants, including the large number of us living here in Los Angeles, have been personally feeling the effects of the rising and falling tension levels in U.S.-Iran relations. That historic upheaval, which severed Washington’s close ties to the former Shah of Iran, and resulted in the taking of 54 U.S. hostages, has marked interactions between the two countries for decades, sometimes leaving Iranian Americans—even those vehemently opposed to Iran’s theocratic regime—caught in the middle.
Today the debate on U.S. immigration, Israel and …
