Roozbeh Farahanipour

Roozbeh Farahanipour is an Iranian-American activist and restaurant owner who fled Iran in 2000 after being jailed and tortured for his opposition to the Islamic Republic. He is a vocal advocate for a secular Iran and has expressed his disapproval of military strikes against Iran, fearing that such actions could lead to another prolonged conflict similar to those in Afghanistan or Iraq. Farahanipour is part of the tightly-knit Iranian American community in Los Angeles, where he operates a restaurant in a culturally significant area known as Persian Square.