Muhammad Sahimi (Persian: محمد سهیمی; born 22 January 1954) is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and holds the NIOC (National Iranian Oil Company) Chair in petroleum engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.
After briefly working for the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), he received a scholarship from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] In the process, he has frequently leveled criticism against other writers on the subject, accusing Con Coughlin (of the UK Daily Telegraph) of knowingly spreading lies and disinformation,[21] and David Albright of exceptional bias.
[citation needed] He has also criticized two former Deputy Directors-General of the IAEA, Olli Heinonen and Pierre Goldschmidt, citing unnamed sources to accuse Heinonen of breaking the IAEA protocols by leaking confidential information (to David Albright) and of spreading unconfirmed claims about the contents of a laptop that was supposedly stolen from Iran and given to Western intelligence agencies, as part of a "crusade against Iran.
Sahimi has denied these accusations but has stated that his articles have been used without his knowledge by members of the Iranian political establishment, including Ayatollah Rafsanjani.