I Was Invited to Meet Ahmadinejad. Then a CIA Wife Called.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is suddenly back in the news. According to a recent report in The New York Times, Israeli and American officials at one point reportedly discussed the possibility of supporting him as a potential post-clerical figure in Iran, a remarkable twist given how aggressively he was once demonized in the West.

The article brought back an old memory from 2009, when I almost met the Iranian president myself.

At the time, I was serving as Associate Provost for International Programs at George Mason University and was involved in discussions with members of the Iranian delegation at the United Nations about the possibility of creating a summer Persian-language program in Iran for GMU students. The idea was academic and cultural, not political. I believed then, as I still do now, that students should study languages and societies directly, especially countries that Americans mostly encounter through the language of conflict, sanctions, and war.

After several meetings, the delegation invited me to attend a smaller gathering with Ahmadinejad himself during his New York visit for the United Nations General Assembly.

I hesitated.

By then, Ahmadinejad had already become one of the most controversial foreign leaders in the world. He was a Holocaust denier and made inflammatory statements about Israel that even I found deeply disturbing. I was fully aware of his reputation. Still, part of me was curious. As someone interested in politics and international affairs, I thought it might be fascinating to observe him in person and perhaps even engage him in conversation.

So I boarded the Acela train from Washington to New York.

Somewhere along the route, I called a friend who lived in McLean, Virginia. Her husband was a very senior CIA official. During our conversation, I casually mentioned that I was on my way to New York and might attend a meeting with Ahmadinejad.

Her reaction was immediate. “Don’t go,” she said.

There was no hesitation in her voice. She warned me that simply entering the room with Ahmadinejad could place me on an American watch list. She even suggested that years later, I might discover I had problems boarding flights or passing through airport security.

At first, I laughed nervously. But after we hung up, I sat silently staring out the train window as the industrial landscape of the Northeast passed by. The entire trip suddenly felt different. What had seemed like an unusual academic and political encounter now felt dangerous in a way I had not fully considered.

Today, in an age of social media outrage and debates over constant surveillance, the story may sound exaggerated. But in 2009, America’s political atmosphere surrounding Iran was extraordinarily tense. This was still the height of the post-9/11 era. Iran was not merely viewed as a hostile state; it occupied an almost mythical place in the American imagination as part of the “Axis of Evil.” The boundaries between intellectual curiosity, diplomacy, and suspicion had become blurred.

By the time the train arrived in New York, I had made my decision. I skipped the meeting and visited friends. We had dinner at an Iranian restaurant instead.

And that is how I almost met Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Please check my new book, Op-Ed: Musings on War & Peace in the Middle East and Beyond.