Foreign Influence Web Snags Prominent Activist

Young woman leading a protest with a megaphone — Photo: Lomb / Shutterstock

New reporting says Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin met figures later tied to Iranian intelligence at a 2014 Tehran conference, sharpening worries about foreign influence networks that target American activists and audiences.

Story Highlights

Telegraph report links Benjamin’s 2014 Tehran trip to a group later sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.
Photos place her with two men later described as facilitators for Iranian intelligence activities.
Coverage notes no proof she knowingly worked with intelligence services.
The case spotlights how conferences and media can serve foreign influence efforts.

What The Reporting Establishes About The 2014 Tehran Conference

The Telegraph reports that Medea Benjamin attended a 2014 conference in Tehran organized by New Horizon, an event series later sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department in 2019 for supporting intelligence collection tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to the outlet’s account. The report states U.S. authorities described New Horizon as a platform for recruiting and gathering information from Western attendees. That timing matters because the conference came years before the sanctions were announced.

The Telegraph also identifies two men tied to the conference who later became central to sanctions actions. It names Nader Talebzadeh as New Horizon’s chairman and Hamed Ghashghavi as its international affairs secretary. The article says U.S. authorities later characterized both as intermediaries or spotters linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. Photographs published or described by outlets show Benjamin with both men at that time, the report says.

Other Reported Contacts And The Evidence Cited

The Telegraph says its evidence includes a purported handwritten note from Benjamin to Ghashghavi after the 2014 event. The story does not provide the full text or authentication details, but it presents the note as part of a larger pattern of contact. Separate reports say Benjamin appeared on Iran’s state broadcaster Press TV during the 2014 trip, in a recorded interview from Tehran, and that she returned to Iran in 2019 with a Code Pink delegation that met Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Fox News’ coverage of The Telegraph’s reporting adds one key limit. It notes that describing Benjamin as an “asset,” as cited by The Telegraph’s unnamed intelligence source, does not by itself prove she knowingly worked for Iranian intelligence. The Telegraph also reports that Code Pink has said it is not funded by any foreign government and that the outlet found no evidence of Iranian government funding to the group. It quotes Benjamin as stating in 2024, “We do not believe in supporting governments; we support people”.

Why Conferences And Media Platforms Matter In Influence Campaigns

Foreign governments often use conferences, cultural forums, and media channels to build relationships, shape messages, and identify potential influencers. That pattern does not always involve classic spying. It can be about access, legitimacy, and message amplification. The Telegraph’s account frames New Horizon as a venue that Iran’s network used to recruit or gather information from visitors, which aligns with known influence tactics described in public discussions of foreign influence operations.

U.S. law also focuses on public influence. The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires people who act in the United States at the order, request, or direction of a foreign principal, and who engage in certain political activities, to register and disclose their work, unless an exemption applies. The Department of Justice can seek civil compliance orders for non-willful cases and pursue criminal penalties for willful violations. FARA is a disclosure law. It aims to expose foreign influence, not to ban speech.

The Lines Between Contact, Influence, And Knowing Direction

This case sits at a hard line between three things. First, did contact occur? The reporting says yes, based on attendance, photos, and media appearances in Iran in 2014, and a later 2019 visit. Second, did those contacts serve Iranian influence goals? The Treasury’s 2019 sanctions on New Horizon, as summarized in media accounts, indicate the group’s events did. Third, did Benjamin act under knowing direction? Coverage notes no proof of that higher bar at this time.

Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin met two men later sanctioned by the United States over their links to the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force during a 2014 conference in Tehran, The Telegraph reported Friday.

Benjamin was photographed at the New Horizon conference alongside… pic.twitter.com/idw3BfoWkM

— Alex kennedy (@Alexkennedy213) October 24, 2026

For many Americans, the concern is simple and shared. People across the political spectrum see how elites and foreign powers can tap soft networks to shape debate while Washington argues. Conservatives worry about propaganda and national security. Liberals worry about manipulation and civil rights. Both sides worry the system misses the truth until it is too late. Clear public records, verified documents, and transparent funding disclosures help the country separate speech from stealth and activism from covert influence.