Key Takeaways
- Emory University removed Dr. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of Iranian official Ali Larijani, after public protests and concerns over national security due to her father's violent rhetoric against the U.S.
- U.S. Representative Buddy Carter led calls for her dismissal, citing her ties to a state sponsor of terrorism as a threat to patient safety and public trust.
- Her removal followed sanctions imposed on her father by the U.S. Treasury Department for his role in suppressing protests in Iran amidst a climate of unrest in the country.
Emory University no longer employs the daughter of an Iranian official following demands for her removal over her father’s calls for violence against the U.S.
Dr. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani is no longer listed as an assistant professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology on Emory School of Medicine’s website, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The former professor’s father, Ali Larijani, serves as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
A spokesperson for the school’s Winship Cancer Institute confirmed with The College Fix via email that “A physician who is the daughter of a senior Iranian government official is no longer an employee of Emory.”
“Because this is a personnel matter, we are unable to provide additional information,” spokesperson Andrea Clement said.
She added that “employees are hired in full compliance with state and federal laws and other applicable requirements.”
A foreign policy expert told The Fix via email that employing Ardeshir-Larijani was a threat to national security.
“Admitting family members of Iranian officials presents a national security risk, as we cannot predict their conduct or goals on U.S. soil,” Foundation for Defense of Democracies Research Fellow Tzvi Kahn said.
“It is reasonable to suspect that family members share the views and objectives of relatives who serve in the Islamist regime. At the very least, family members may seek to spread propaganda on behalf of Tehran,” he said.
Kahn also told The Fix that the U.S. should not allow family members of Iranian officials to enter, regardless of their stated purpose. Doing so signals disregard for Iranians facing hardship and repression as regime leaders live comfortably.
He added that as the regime shows signs of historic weakness amid the possibility of U.S. military action and renewed protests, “family members of regime officials may seek to jump from a sinking ship.” Washington should make clear they are not welcome in the U.S., he said.
“The Trump administration should repeatedly publicize the fact that family members of regime officials seek entry to the United States. Such publicity would embarrass the Islamic Republic and expose its fundamental hypocrisy,” Kahn said.
Dr. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani’s dismissal immediately followed multiple calls for her to be removed over national security concerns.
In a recent post on X, U.S. Representative Buddy Carter announced that he sent a letter to Emory and the Georgia Composite Medical Board demanding that they remove Ardeshir-Larijani and revoke her medical license.
“Her ties to the largest state sponsor of terrorism are unacceptable and serve only to erode patient safety, public trust, and national security,” he wrote on X.
In the letter, he stated that “America’s medical institutions must not serve as a safe harbor for individuals connected by blood and loyalty to regimes that openly call for the death of Americans.”
On Jan. 19, protesters gathered outside Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute to demand the professor’s removal.
“Did you know Iran terror chief’s daughter is your co-worker?” one sign read.
Her dismissal occurred two weeks after the Treasury Department sanctioned her father, saying he coordinated the regime’s violent response to protests, called for force against peaceful protesters, and publicly defended its actions, according to Fox News.
This comes amid Iran’s brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that began Dec. 28, 2025, over economic collapse that evolved into calls for regime change. The protests have resulted in thousands of deaths and mass arrests, CBS News reported.
In response, President Trump ordered warships to head toward the Middle East “just in case” military action is needed.
In another similar case, a University of Arkansas professor, Shirin Saeidi, was removed as director of the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies partly due to social media posts praising Iran’s leadership and calling for Israel’s destruction, The College Fix previously reported.
