Patrick Disney is the Acting Legislative Director at the National Iranian American Council, the largest nation-wide grassroots organization representing the Iranian-American community. He also coordinates a coalition of over 35 NGOs working to promote effective diplomatic engagement with Iran called the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran. He is based in Washington, DC, and blogs at www.niacINsight.com.

Blog Entries by Patrick Disney

Some in Congress Get Smart on Iran

22 Comments | Posted December 15, 2009 | 03:10 PM (EST)


For more than two decades now, US policy on Iran has depended almost entirely on sanctions. Even now, Congress is set to pass the latest in a long line of "crippling" pressures: a gasoline embargo that both Republicans and Democrats believe is unlikely to alter Iran's behavior in...

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When All You Have is a Hammer, Every Iran Problem Looks Like a Nail

68 Comments | Posted August 7, 2009 | 11:41 AM (EST)


For most of the month of August, Congress will be on recess. Consider this the calm before the storm.

Most in Washington are aware that September will bring with it the biggest push for Iran sanctions in years. AIPAC has been lobbying for months on the Iran Refined Petroleum...

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On Iran, the Power of Obama's Silence

145 Comments | Posted June 14, 2009 | 06:16 PM (EST)


"Help us."  That was a comment, translated from Farsi, that was posted on the blog that I manage for the National Iranian American Council yesterday.  It came from a reader in Tehran, imploring that someone in the West do something to stop what he or she...
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