Abteen VaziriI
Coming to PALC on Monday, March 15, 2027
True Life Story – Revolution to Refuge: Escape from Post-1979 Iran to Texas
Vaziri’s father, a major in the Iranian Imperial Air Force who trained in the U.S., returned to Iran, where Vaziri was born. Soon after, the 1979 Islamic Revolution dramatically changed their lives.
“My father, who was, you know, very high up, a major at the time in the Iranian Imperial Air Force, was court martialed and then given a death sentence. And his charge was blasphemy. All he said is, I don’t believe we should have an Islamic government. We should have a secular government,” Vaziri said.
After months on death row, his father was pardoned conditionally to serve in the Iran-Iraq War.
Eventually, his family fled: his father to Austria, Vaziri and relatives to France and Germany as refugees, and then to America in the early 90s.
“We basically got to, got to experience Islamic, you know, Marxist Islamic government taking over a country,” he explained.
Driven by the profound impact of his father’s passing in 2023 and the erratic enforcement of COVID policies starting around 2020, which he said left him with psychological stress that reminded him of the instability he experienced as a child during Iran’s revolution, Vaziri delivered a stark warning: “I’ve seen this movie. I’m coming to you from the future and saying, ‘You cannot be the silent majority and sit there and let these people take over.’”
Settling in Dallas in 1995, Vaziri attended Plano Senior High School and the University of Texas at Dallas, where he played soccer and earned a degree in computer science in 2000. He later earned his MBA in finance from SMU.
Vaziri’s career has spanned tech (as a Unix system admin for a GPS provider serving clients like Walmart), hedge fund work, time as a professional poker player, and experience in the EB-5 immigrant investor program. Since 2012, Vaziri has led EB-5 efforts, running his own broker-dealer firm, Uptown Companies Inc.
Vaziri takes pride in his role in revitalizing downtown Dallas through EB-5, specifically highlighting his time renovating the historic Statler Hilton Hotel.
“The other candidates in Dallas running for this Congressional District can’t say they were personally responsible for creating, you know, 8,000 jobs for one project. Helping the city of Dallas revitalize its downtown area by turning this ugly old, vacant building into one of the city’s most beautiful, thriving buildings. And I did it with the EB-5 program,” Vaziri told EB5 Investors Magazine.
Vaziri reiterated his support for the EB-5 program, highlighting its role in attracting highly talented individuals to the United States. He also stressed the importance of prioritizing the well-being of American citizens while still allowing others the opportunity to build a better life.
Vaziri’s is focused on restoring economic sovereignty in America.
Vaziri described the Chinese Communist Party as one of the most significant threats facing the United States, citing concerns over supply chains, manufacturing dependence, and national sovereignty.
During his discussion with DX, Vaziri advocated for repatriating manufacturing and encouraged consumers to “buy American.”