At the same time, a number of prominent Iran experts have questioned the Iranian government's link to the plot.

Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, thinks not.

This new crackdown by the regime is, Iran experts say, as severe as any in two decades.

The Iran expert told me, "The danger posed by Iran is in the eye of the beholder.

Some Iran experts have questioned whether the threats delivered by administration officials help or hurt diplomacy with Iran.

Weissman started AIPAC work in 1993 and was an Iran expert.

Its mission statement states, "Tehran Bureau is a virtual bureau connecting journalists, Iran experts and readers all over the world.

Around Washington, she is known as the go-to Iran expert.

And some Iran experts say the financial assistance would tend to publicly discredit the recipients.

But the Iran expert told me that, in the absence of strong leadership, the movement was splintering.