Abdi was a member of central council of Iran Participation Front, and is currently the chairman of the Association of Iranian Journalists.

He was the first person to storm the United States embassy in Tehran, along with other students, during the early years of the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

Abdi became the director of the Ayandeh public opinion firm and participated in a poll asking Iranians if they supported resuming government dialogue with the United States.

[2] On 22 September 2002 the official news agency IRNA published an Ayandeh poll indicating that 74.4% of Iranians favored a resumption of ties with the United States.

Abdi was arrested at his home on 4 November 2002, accused of "having received money from either the US polling firm Gallup or a foreign embassy".