Iranian Americans
[18] On the Nowruz of 1935, Reza Shah Pahlavi asked foreign delegates to use the term Iran, the endonym of the country used since the Sasanian Empire, in formal correspondence.[32] These several thousand visitors and students unintentionally became the basis of the cultural, economic, and social networks that would enable large-scale immigration in the years that followed.[32] As Ronald H. Bayor writes, "The 1979 Revolution and the 1980–88 war with Iraq transformed Iran's class structure, politically, socially, and economically.Once basically an issue of brain drain during the Pahlavi period, it was now predominantly an involuntary emigration of a relatively large number of middle- and upper-class families, including the movement of a considerable amount of wealth.By 2002, an estimated 1.5 to 2.5 million Iranians lived abroad, mainly in North America and Europe, due to the Islamic government's authoritarian practices.[46] According to the PAAIA (Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans), estimates range from 500,000 to 1,000,000,[47][48] numbers backed up by Ronald H. Bayor of the Georgia Institute of Technology as well.Kenneth Katzman, specialist in Middle Eastern affairs and part of the Congressional Research Service, estimated their number at over 1,000,000 in published December 2015.[46] According to the PAAIA (Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans), estimates range from 500,000 to 1,000,000,[47] numbers backed by Ronald H. Bayor of the Georgia Institute of Technology.[79][80] Some of the more well known residents of the Houston area in the past or present are Jasmin Moghbeli, Susan Roshan, Shawn Daivari, Farinaz Koushanfar, and Kavon Hakimzadeh (captain of the USS Harry Truman Naval aircraft carrier).[88][89] The other notable Iranian in Texas that gained national attention in recent years was UT Austin's Omid Kokabee who was imprisoned in Iran for political reasons.[97] A 2012 national telephone survey of a sample of 400 Iranian-Americans, commissioned by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans and conducted by Zogby Research Services, asked the respondents what their religions were.[99] In the book Social Movements in 20th Century Iran: Culture, Ideology, and Mobilizing Frameworks, author Stephen C. Poulson adds that Western ideas are making Iranians irreligious.[103] According to Hakimzadeh and Dixon in 2006, members of religious and ethnic minorities such as Baháʼís, Jews, Armenians, and Assyrians were disproportionately represented amongst the early exiles of the 1978–1979 revolution.[11] According to the latest census data available, more than one in four Iranian-Americans holds a master's or doctoral degree, the highest rate among 67 ethnic groups studied.[116] Ali Mostasahri, a founding member of the Iranian Studies Group, offers a reason for the relative success of Iranian-Americans compared to other immigrants.[12] About 50 percent of all working Iranian Americans are in professional and managerial occupations, a percentage greater than any other group in the United States (Bayor, 2011).[119] Though Iranian-Americans have historically excelled in business, academia, and the sciences, they have traditionally shied away from participating in American politics or other civic activities.[61] Iranian-Americans do not appear to engage in American politics, as demonstrated by survey results from large cities showing only 10 percent of them voted in the 2004 election.[105] A 2019 Zogby International survey, commissioned by PAAIA, found that in the 2016 presidential election, 56% of Iranian Americans respondents voted for Hillary Clinton, the democratic candidate.Iranians have been founders or senior executives at eBay, Oracle, Google, Dropbox, YouTube, Uber, Expedia, Twitter, and other major corporations.[132] Iranian philanthropists constructed the Freedom Sculpture in the Century City neighborhood, in honor of the Persian artifact Cyrus Cylinder.[137][138][139] In 2013, BravoTV launched Shahs of Sunset which followed a group of six Iranian American friends in Los Angeles who try to juggle their active social lives and careers while also balancing the demands of their families and traditions; the show was accused of racism and relaying on stereotypes.[148] The film documentary, The Dawn Is Too Far (2024; directed by Soumyaa Behrens, Persis Karim) follows eight Iranian Americans from the San Francisco Bay Area and their shared experience."[163] In 2018, while on national television, having a discussion about taking a DNA test, Senator Lindsey Graham remarked that it would be "terrible" if he discovered he had Iranian heritage.The incident took place during a time of escalated tensions between Iran and the U.S.[167] Iranian-Americans are among the most educated and successful communities in the U.S., according to a report by the Iranian Studies group at MIT.[172] Other well known Iranian-American entrepreneurs include designer Bijan Pakzad, entrepreneur Sam Nazarian, business executive Hamid Akhavan, former CEO of Unify GmbH & Co. KG (formerly Siemens Enterprise Communications),[173] Omid Kordestani of Twitter and former Senior Vice President of Google, CEO of YouTube Salar Kamangar, Sina Tamaddon of Apple Inc., and Shahram Dabiri Lead Producer for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft from 1999 to 2007.[181][182] Notable Iranian-Americans in science include Firouz Naderi, a director at NASA; Ali Javan, inventor of the first gas laser; Maryam Mirzakhani, the first female winner of the Fields Medal; Nima Arkani-Hamed, a leading theoretical physicist; cancer biologist Mina J. Bissell; Gholam A. Peyman, the inventor of LASIK; Lotfi Asker Zadeh; Vartan Gregorian; Cumrun Vafa; Babak Hassibi; Nouriel Roubini; Ali Hajimiri; Pardis Sabeti; Vahid Tarokh; Ehsan Afshari; George Bournoutian; Nader Engheta; Payam Heydari; and Rashid Massumi, M.D., a pioneer in the fields of electrophysiology and cardiology.Well known American media personalities of Iranian descent include Christiane Amanpour of ABC News and CNN, born in England; Daron Malakian, member of the rock band System of a Down;[183] Susie Gharib, of Nightly Business Report; Asieh Namdar; Roya Hakakian; Yara Shahidi; and Rudi Bakhtiar.There are several Iranian American actors, comedians and filmmakers, including the Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Shohreh Aghdashloo, the award-winning director, producer and screenwriters Amir Cyrus Ahanchian and Cyrus Nowrasteh, actresses Tala Ashe, Catherine Bell, Sarah Shahi, Nadia Bjorlin, Nasim Pedrad, Desiree Akhavan, Sheila Vand, Necar Zadegan, Medalion Rahimi, and Bahar Soomekh, actors Adrian Pasdar, Shaun Toub, Arian Moayed, Navid Negahban, Reza Sixo Safai, Shahaub Roudbari, and Aria Shahghasemi, musicians Sarah Fard (Savoir Faire)[184] and Rostam Batmanglij, comedians Max Amini, Maz Jobrani and Tehran Von Ghasri, filmmakers Bavand Karim and Kamshad Kooshan, producers Bob Yari and Farhad Safinia, author and performer Shahram Shiva, and artist and filmmaker Daryush Shokof.[187] Cyrus Amir-Mokri, who was appointed as the Treasury Department Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions by President Obama, is the highest ranking Iranian-American official in government as of 2012.
> 49% of all Iranians
6%-9% of all Iranians
2%-5% of all Iranians
< 1% but may still be a notable population
CaliforniaLos AngelesOrangeSan DiegoNew YorkNew JerseyConnecticutMarylandVirginiaWashington, D.C.IllinoisMichiganNortheast OhioFloridaGeorgiaAmerican EnglishPersianAzerbaijaniArmenianKurdishlanguages of IranAtheismRealismHumanismAgnosticismBaháʼíJudaismProtestanismRoman CatholicismZoroastrianismMandaeanismIranian diasporaIranians of UAEAjam of BahrainAjam of QatarAjam of Iraq'Ajam of KuwaitIranians of CanadaIranians of UKIranians of GermanyIranians of IsraelIranians in TurkeyIranian PeoplesAchomisBaluchsIranian AzerisTurkic peoplesQashqaiAzerbaijanisHuwalaUnited StatesIranian ancestryIraniancitizenshipIranian RevolutionIranian monarchyTehrangelesWestwood, Los AngelesMinistry of Interior of IranIranians outside the countryMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyWestern worldNowruzReza Shah PahlaviendonymSasanian EmpireMohammad Reza Pahlavinegative stereotypes of IraniansIslamic Republic of Irannon-Persian IraniansAzerisPersian textHistory of the Iranian Americans in Los AngelesNorth AmericaIranian-ArmenianJamestown, VirginiaMirza Mohammad AliUlysses S. GrantInstitute of International Education1979 Revolution1980–88brain drainIslamic Republic1980 US CensusMax Amini2000 US CensusAmerican Community SurveyCongressional Research ServiceUniversity of ColoradoUniversity of San DiegoAl-JazeeraGeorgia Institute of TechnologyThe AtlanticIraniansindividuals notable in many fieldsDemography of the United StatesDemography of IranUnited States Citizenship and Immigration Services2010 United States CensusAmerican Factfinderwhite AmericanU.S. censusMinistry of Foreign Affairs of IranChicagoChicago metropolitan areaKings Point, New YorkGreat NeckJewishNashville, TennesseeLos Angeles metropolitan areaPersian SquareGreater Los AngelesSan Francisco Bay AreaSacramentoFresnoLos Angeles TimesLebanonTurkeyMiddle EasternIsraelBeverly HillsIrvineGlendaleIranian Jewishethnic enclavesTarzana