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This article explores the contextual importance of the process of identity formation of Iranian women exiles in the Netherlands and the US (California). These women were active participants in the Iranian revolution of 1979 within leftist organizations. They had to leave Iran when the Islamic group took absolute power in 1981 and suppressed political opposition. An essential interplay in the narrative of their lives is that of the past (Iranian culture and settings) and the present (Dutch or American culture and settings). The main aim of this paper is to show the impact of the discursive space in the new countries -- the discourses on immigration in relation to the national identity -- on multiple identifications in past and present. In addition, the influence of this impact on the narratives of the women of this study will be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]