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A University of Arkansas Iranian-American professor fired from her tenured position in late March is now facing investigations in Britain over allegations of academic misconduct tied to her research on Iran.
Cambridge University Press, which published a book by University of Arkansas professor Shirin Saeidi based on her Cambridge PhD dissertation, is investigating claims that the work contains fabricated or unauthorized interviews with female victims of the Iranian government.
Iran International has also learned that Cambridge University is reviewing allegations related to Saeidi’s PhD dissertation itself.
University of Arkansas President Jay Silveria dismissed Saeidi over matters unrelated to the Cambridge investigations. She has appealed her termination, and the university’s Board of Trustees is set to review the case on May 21.
Saeidi’s book, Women and the Islamic Republic: How Gendered Citizenship Conditions the Iranian State, is now under scrutiny in Britain.
A spokesperson for Cambridge University Press told Iran International that the publisher “takes all complaints about our publications seriously” and is continuing to investigate the allegations “according to standard COPE guidelines.”
COPE, the Committee on Publication Ethics, is an organization that addresses ethical standards in scholarly publishing.
Iran International obtained a copy of a complaint submitted to Cambridge University Press by Maryam Nouri, author of the memoir In Search of Liberation, accusing Saeidi of fabricating interviews and using her work without permission.
Nouri, who was imprisoned by the Islamic Republic in 1985 while pregnant and later gave birth in prison, wrote that “I am writing to submit a formal complaint regarding the unethical and unauthorized use of my personal memoir and the fabrication of interview material by Dr. Shirin Saeidi.”
She added: “I never met with Ms. Shirin Saeidi, nor have I had any interview with her in the city of Cologne or in any other city in Germany.”
According to Nouri, Saeidi used material from her memoir “in both her doctoral dissertation and her published book without my written or verbal permission, for her own personal benefit, including advancing her academic credentials, university status, and professional position.”
“I consider this misuse a clear violation of my personal rights and dignity, and I strongly condemn it,” she wrote.
A Cambridge University spokesperson told Iran International that the university “takes allegations of academic misconduct seriously” and that concerns raised would be reviewed “in line with the relevant University policies and procedures.”
In a series of posts published on X in December, former Iranian political prisoner Nasrin Parvaz also denied ever being interviewed by Saeidi.
“I never knew Saeidi, and I never had an interview with her,” Parvaz wrote, adding that Saeidi had only used the Farsi version of her memoir published more than two decades earlier.
Numerous requests for comment sent by Iran International to Saeidi and her attorney, JJ Thompson, went unanswered.
Saeidi had already drawn controversy prior to her dismissal from the University of Arkansas. The university had previously disciplined her for allegedly using official university letterhead in an appeal seeking the release of Hamid Nouri, an Iranian official convicted in Sweden in 2022 over his role in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988.
Saeidi has said she had permission to use the letterhead.
Lawdan Bazargan, director of the Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA), who first publicized Saeidi’s support for Hamid Nouri, later began examining the sourcing in Saeidi’s academic work.
Bazargan told Iran International that several former political prisoners named in Saeidi’s dissertation and book had publicly denied being interviewed by her, raising broader questions about documentation, recordings, consent forms, and sourcing.
“The credibility of oral history research depends entirely on documentation, informed consent, and verifiable sourcing,” Bazargan said.
“If key testimonies cannot be substantiated, then the scholarly foundation of the book itself comes into question, because its central arguments rely heavily on those contested interviews.”
Bazargan also called for scrutiny of the supervisory process behind Saeidi’s Cambridge dissertation, including the role of her PhD supervisor, Professor Glen Rangwala. Iran International sent a request for comment to Rangwala.
Saeidi also drew criticism over social media posts praising former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and defending the Iranian establishment during the recent war. Her X account has since been suspended.
The man, identified by the pseudonym “Nima,” told the newspaper he reported the incident to British police after returning to the UK and warned the journalist, who works for a Persian-language broadcaster.
Nima, who has lived in Britain for about a decade and works as a bartender, said the encounter began during a holiday in southern Europe, where he visited an Iranian restaurant and met two men, including one he recognized from Iran.
The man initially discussed plans to open a bar in London and asked for Nima’s contact details, presenting the approach as a business proposal, according to the report.
Alleged murder proposal
Nima said a second meeting took a darker turn when the man arrived with two others and began referring to personal details about his life in Britain and relatives in Iran.
“He told me: ‘You are a decent man. You have family in Iran who need your support. I would like to offer you a job, with an initial payment of £40,000,’” Nima told the Jewish Chronicle.
According to the report, the man referred to an Iranian journalist in London with whom Nima had argued online and said he wanted to “punish” him, asking whether Nima could carry out the act or find someone else to do so.
Nima said he was offered 20,000 pounds in cash immediately and the remaining amount after identifying the journalist’s location. He said the men appeared to believe the journalist lived in a safe house.
The suspected operative did not directly identify himself as an IRGC member, Nima said, but an acquaintance suggested he held influence in Iran and referred to “Sepah” - the Persian name for the IRGC –while discussing possible help for Nima’s family.
Security concerns in Britain
The alleged approach comes amid heightened concern in Britain over Iranian-linked threats targeting dissidents, journalists and Jewish institutions.
Iran-aligned group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia has said it carried out attacks on Jewish sites in Britain and Europe, including incidents involving two north London synagogues last month.
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum has warned repeatedly that Iran, acting through the IRGC, poses what he described as a “potentially lethal” threat in Britain. British authorities have disrupted multiple alleged Iran-linked plots since 2022 targeting dissidents, journalists and Jewish or Israeli-linked individuals, according to British officials.
The case against him stemmed from his poetry, political writings and protest activities, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center said, citing sources close to his family, who also said he had not taken part in any armed activities.
The US-based group said former cellmates reported torture during interrogation, the destruction of some of his handwritten poems and denial of full medical care despite serious health problems.
Farahavar, a 37-year-old father from Iran’s northern province of Gilan, was sentenced to death on accusations of “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi) and “enmity against God” (moharebeh) by a Revolutionary Court in Rasht.
Farahavar was arrested in Rasht in September 2024 and later transferred to Lakan Prison after being held at an Intelligence Ministry detention center, the group said.
Iran has been carrying out near-daily executions, which has raised fears for detainees believed to be facing the death penalty over January’s anti-government protests, as well as prisoners accused of espionage during the war with the United States and Israel.
The unsigned notices asked recipients to provide personal details including home and work addresses, bank account information, images of bank cards and links to all their social media accounts.
They were also instructed to sign handwritten pledges not to publish content deemed harmful to the country’s “psychological, social or political security.”
The notices warned that users’ activities were being monitored through “smart surveillance and artificial intelligence systems” and said repeated violations could lead to judicial action and heavier punishment.
Some citizens were further instructed to publish at least 20 posts supporting the Islamic Republic on social media and send evidence that the posts had been uploaded.
Pressure campaigns expand online
The demands mark the latest effort by Iranian authorities to tighten control over online activity following waves of dissent and criticism on social media over the past year.
Recipients were told not to publish all pro-government posts in a single day “to make the activity appear natural,” according to the messages.
Some were also ordered to attend nighttime government rallies that began after US and Israeli attacks earlier this year and continued after a ceasefire took hold. Participants were instructed to photograph themselves carrying Islamic Republic flags or images of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
In several cases, authorities requested identification documents from a guarantor who would accept responsibility for any future “criminal activity” by the targeted individual.
In August 2025, many Iranians wrote on social media that their SIM cards had been abruptly disconnected without warning or court orders after they published critical posts online, particularly in the aftermath of the 12-day war.
Some said security bodies contacted them through the domestic messaging platform Eitaa and told them to meet a series of demands or report to entities including the Prosecutor’s Office cyber division to regain access.
During those visits, citizens said they were ordered to submit copies of their national ID cards and sign written pledges promising to stop critical online activity.
Similar measures were reported in October 2024, when journalists and political activists said security bodies blocked their SIM cards, forced them to delete posts and ordered them to publish content that contradicted their views.
A nail and manicure instructor said her business had effectively stopped operating since March last year as customers struggling to cover basic expenses reduced spending on beauty services.
The woman said internet outages had also cut off income from selling online training packages. At the same time, the signal for her point-of-sale payment terminal had been disabled.
“When I followed up, they told me the signal for payment devices used by ‘non-essential businesses’ had been suspended indefinitely for security reasons,” she told Iran International.
Industrial firms report layoffs, bankruptcies
Messages received by Iran International also pointed to growing unemployment and bankruptcies in industries linked to petrochemicals, ports and construction.
Many workers who lost jobs or faced layoffs said they had turned to ride-hailing services such as Snapp or other unstable work to survive.
One worker in the industrial sector said the price of steel profiles used in construction had more than doubled since before the war, rising from 700,000 rials ($0.38) per kilogram to 1.55 million rials ($0.85).
“Because of these price increases, we’ve been unemployed for three months and can no longer afford raw materials,” he said.
Steel profile prices have risen between 120% and 160% over the past year, according to accounts sent to Iran International.
A cabinet-maker said the price of a single MDF sheet had climbed from 30 million rials ($16.50) last year to between 150 million rials ($82.50) and 170 million rials ($93) this year.
“With raw material costs rising 400% to 470%, continuing the business and paying rent is no longer possible,” he said.
Other citizens previously told Iran International that shortages of iron sheets and petrochemical materials in cities including Isfahan had forced many industrial workshops to close.
Port workers say wages delayed
Iran International also received reports of layoffs and business slowdowns in ports and logistics hubs.
An employee at Rajaei Port said many workers had been dismissed and those still employed often received salaries late.
“The port has become very quiet,” the worker said.
Rajaei, one of Iran’s main commercial ports, was hit by a major fire in May 2025 after what authorities described as an explosion involving a container carrying hazardous chemicals including sodium perchlorate. The blast killed dozens of people.
Several contractors linked to the port had already faced financial difficulties before the explosion and the subsequent war, according to workers familiar with the situation.
Another resident from Bandar-e Emam wrote that companies linked to the port had reduced staff and struggled to pay wages on time.
Iranian outlet Rouydad24 reported on May 7 that workers at Mobarakeh Steel had seen wages reduced to the official minimum despite earlier assurances that salaries would be paid without disruption following US and Israeli attacks.
The report said many skilled workers had turned to app-based taxi driving for income.
Restaurants squeezed by rising prices
Restaurants and food businesses have also come under pressure from higher prices and weakening consumer demand.
The owner of a fast-food restaurant in Lahijan, north of Iran, said the cost of ingredients changed so rapidly that menu prices had to increase almost daily.
“The ingredients for a sandwich sold today for one million rials ($0.55) may cost 1.1 million rials ($0.60) to replace a few days later,” the restaurant owner wrote to Iran International. “Customers are unhappy and we are also being hurt by the situation.”
The decline of the rial had pushed the monthly minimum wage including benefits down to roughly $88 in real terms.
A restaurant owner in Kish said he had already laid off more than 10 employees and now saw closure as the only remaining option.
Customers and business owners also reported sharp increases in fast-food prices, with some sandwiches selling for around five million rials ($2.75) and pizzas reaching 1.2 million rials ($6.60).
