Iran Project Seminar Series

In the rapidly changing Middle East, the geostrategic position of the Arabian Peninsula has taken on a renewed importance. In Yemen, the war has entered its fourth year and threatened the critical Bab al-Mandab shipping lanes, the Qatar-Saudi rift has pitted two close American allies against one another since 2017, and the Iran-Saudi rivalry has furthered geopolitical competition in the region since the onset of the Arab Spring. In addition to these dynamics, the United States must account for the increasing role of both China and Russia in the region. Please join us for a discussion on these new and pressing challenges with Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan (ret). He served as Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and Commander of the 32 Nation Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East. Moderated by Iran Project Director Payam Mohseni. RSVP required: visit here.

Following President Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) and reimposition of sanctions against the country, Seyed Hossein Mousavian will explore the implications of these developments on US-Iran bilateral relations, Iran's nuclear program, as well as regional political dynamics. Mousavian is a Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University. He is a former diplomat who served as Iran’s Ambassador to Germany (1990-1997), and was the Head of the Foreign Relations Committee of Iran’s National Security Council (1997-2005). Discussant: Iran Project Director Payam Mohseni. Co-sponsored by the WCFIA/CMES Middle East Seminar. 

Iran's close partnership with Syria dates back to the victory of the Islamic revolution and has proved remarkably durable ever since. Although the relationship between these two states has experienced various stages over the last few decades, the alliance has consistently centered on shared threat perceptions and the desire to establish deterrence against outside actors. In this lecture, Iran Project Postdoctoral Research Fellow Hassan Ahmadian will discuss how Iran's policy has adapted over time throughout different circumstances and will offer insights into future trajectories. This is the second lecture in a three part series on Iran's Middle East policy; the final lecture will be on Iran's foreign policy towards Iraq  (Dec. 7). Moderated by Iran Project Director Payam Mohseni.  RSVP required: please RSVP here.

From the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, Iran's rising influence is shaping important dynamics on the ground. In Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, Iran-allied partners and armed groups have pushed back their rivals including ISIS and militant salafis. A large determining factor in these conflict zones is Iran's rivalry with Saudi Arabia as these two regional powers face off across multiple arenas in the Middle East. What is driving Iran's strategic calculus and decision making in the region? Is the Middle East bound for further conflict given current trajectories? Despite the importance of Iranian decision making in the Middle East, the country's foreign policy remains understudied and misunderstood. Join this lecture exploring Iranian foreign policy by Hassan Ahmadian (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the Iran Project and Assistant Professor at the University of Tehran) -- the first in a three part series on Iran's Middle East policy.  RSVP required: please RSVP here. 

With President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Iranian nuclear agreement (JCPOA), the future of the deal is under serious question. Please join the Iran Project and The Project on Managing the Atom (MTA) for an expert-level roundtable analyzing the ramifications of this decision and the how leading international and regional players will react to these latest developments.

As the Iranian nuclear deal appears to be increasingly at risk in the current political climate, Hassan Ahmadian will discuss recent perceptions and conversations in Iran regarding the Trump administration, Iranian policymaking objectives, and the future of the Iranian nuclear agreement (JCPOA). How will Iran react to increasing pressure and brinksmanship? What are Iran's strategies moving ahead?

Professor of Economics at Virginia Tech and Associate at Belfer Center's Iran Project Djavad Salehi-Isfahani will discuss the economic performance of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the context of ongoing international uncertainty regarding the Iran nuclear deal, as well as the recent domestic protests in Iran. Discussion will be moderated by Payam Mohseni, Iran Project Director.

In an increasingly volatile Middle East, Iran in 2018 will continue to be at the center of regional developments--and at the top of headlines. The defeat of ISIS in Iraq and the victory of Assad in Syria is a strategic win for Iran and its allies and as post-war reconstruction gets underway in these countries, Iran will play a crucial role in governance, economic, and security issues. On the other hand, domestically Iran was embroiled with recent protests over the economy. What does 2018 hold for Iran? Will Iran continue its foreign policies or roll back its regional role due to domestic and international pressures? In light of the Trump administration’s increasingly confrontational rhetoric on Iran, Iranian responses and its domestic and foreign politics are again in the international spotlight and require careful consideration. Join Payam Mohseni, the Iran Project Director at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in this timely discussion. Co-sponsored by Harvard's WCFIA/CMES Middle East Seminar. 

During this Iran Project seminar, Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, a joint research fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center's Iran Project and Project on Managing the Atom and former Director for Iran on the National Security Council at the White House, will explore the future trajectory of U.S. policy towards Iran. This talk will take place following the Trump administration's expected decision to de-certify the Iran nuclear deal to the U.S. Congress and roll-out its comprehensive Iran strategy. The event will be moderated by Iran Project Director Payam Mohseni.

The Iran Project is pleased to host J. Matthew McInnis, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, for a conversation on Iran's strategic outlook in the Middle East. Given Iran's increasingly influential role in creating new realities on the ground, current geopolitical rivalries will be discussed along with how Iran is influencing various major areas of conflict in the region. The event will be moderated by Iran Project Director Payam Mohseni.

Hussein Kalout, Special Secretary for Strategic Affairs of the Brazilian government and Associate at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center’s Iran Project, will be discussing Brazil's Middle East policy and its implications for the rapidly-changing balance of power in the region. The event will be co-sponsored by Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) and moderated by the Iran Project Director Payam Mohseni.

Ali Fathollah-Nejad (Associate, Iran Project, HKS; Associate Fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations) will discuss the main intellectual pillars underpinning the current Iranian administration and its school of thought, with a focus on issues pertaining to economic development as well as international relations. The event will be moderated by Iran Project Director Payam Mohseni.

Simon Mabon (Lecturer, Lancaster University), will explore the rivalry between two major Gulf powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran, after the Arab Uprisings. With the fragmentation of a number of states across the region in 2011 and political dynamics challenged in a range of different ways, Riyadh and Tehran found opportunities to improve their standing across the Middle East, often in zero sum ways. Moderated by Iran Project Director Payam Mohseni.

Drawing from their contributions to the recently published book,Power and Change in Iran: Dynamics of Contention and Conciliation, Daniel Brumberg, Shadi Mokhtari, and Payam Mohseni, will shed light on political and social struggles that are shaping Iran's domestic politics and its evolving engagement in the Middle East and wider global arena.

An Iran Project Director’s Seminar with Mehrzad Boroujerdi, on the past lessons of Iranian elections, and how electoral behavior, messaging, and factional dynamics impact Iranian elections. Moderated by Iran Project Director Payam Mohseni.

A panel discussion with Robert M. Danin, MEI Senior Fellow and Senior Fellow, Middle East Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Gonul Tol, Founding Director, Center for Turkish Studies, Middle East Institute; and Nasser Hadian, Professor of Political Science, University of Tehran.

The news released April 2nd about a framework agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 heralds an important success in the diplomatic process to prevent Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon. However, many questions about the deal's parameters, implementation and effects. This seminar will explore these questions and others relating to the announcement of the framework agreement.

This seminar will be open to Harvard students, staff, and faculty only, and will require an RSVP.

Iran Project Director’s Seminar with Ebrahim Mohseni, Center for International and Security Studies at U. of Maryland (CISSM)

How effective have sanctions been in impacting Iranian exports? This presentation argues that exports sanctions may be less effective in a globalized world as exporters can deflect their exports from one export destination to another. Using highly dis-aggregated data about Iranian non-oil exports, it uncovers the existence, extent, and mechanism of Iranian exports deflection following the imposition of exports sanctions. It shows how exporter size, past export status, and pricing strategy matter in the process of exports deflection.