I exposed Irans regime then came the LA stalker and stolen bikini photos sent to my husband

As an Iranian-American political analyst who has dedicated my career to exposing the regime in Tehran, I know firsthand the dangers of speaking out against the Islamic Republic.I live in Los Angeles — home to largest community of Iranians outside the country itself — where I have dealt with threats for more than two decades.For those of us who have spent years telling the truth about the regime, the feeling is familiar.They want us to know they are here.In 2006, after moving to LA, a man I believed to be an operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) followed me on foot through Westwood Village.

When I noticed him, I ducked into a local store and walked the aisles for a few minutes before he left.In a severe hacking attempt a few years ago, my websites, email and social media accounts were all taken over.On another occasion, I was emailed the link to a website on my birthday featuring my photographs and describing me a Mossad agent.Hackers also accessed my photos and sent pictures of me in a bikini to my husband’s email.

I understood exactly what they wanted me to take from that — they could access my private life.They knew who my husband was and how to reach him.That is how intimidation works when the target is thousands of miles from Iran.

The threat reaches a family member.The person exposing the regime’s abuses has to spend time recovering accounts and thinking about what else has been compromised.These threats have led me to work closely with the local FBI, and agents have conducted routine patrols around my home because they recognize I am a target.I receive still threats daily on my X and Instagram accounts, but the experience began long before I made a career of reporting on Iran.When I was an undergraduate at Rutgers, a threat arrived in my student mailbox, written with letters cut out of a magazine.

The message was that they would get me.I was president of the university’s Iranian club.Then came the heavy-breathing messa...