Payam Mohseni Named Inaugural Director of Belfer Center's Iran Project

Cambridge, MA -- Payam Mohseni, visiting assistant professor of Iranian and Middle East politics at Harvard University, has been named Iran Project Director and Fellow for Iran Studies at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

As founding director of the Belfer Center’s newly formed Iran Project, Mohseni will lead an effort to produce advanced, policy-relevant knowledge on salient issues of Iranian affairs and will serve as a diplomatic bridge to engage Iranian universities and think tanks. As a frequent traveler to Iran who is fluent in Persian, Mohseni’s research focuses on the internal policymaking process of the Iranian state and the dynamics of factional politics in post-revolutionary Iran.

In announcing Mohseni’s appointment, Belfer Center Executive Director for Research Gary Samore said the Belfer Center has long recognized the need for clear-eyed analysis of Iran and its role in the world. “From its nuclear program and sponsorship of hostile state and non-state actors to its soft-power influence in the region, Iran has outsized abilities to shape events beyond its borders in a dramatic fashion,” Samore said.

In addition to his work at the Belfer Center, Mohseni will co-chair the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe Study Group at Harvard’s Center for European Studies.

“We are pleased to welcome Payam as both Fellow for Iran Studies and Inaugural Director for our new Iran Project,” said Graham Allison, director of the Belfer Center. “As a writer, researcher, teacher, and manager, Payam has already distinguished himself. We look forward to his efforts to take the Center’s already formidable work on Iranian affairs to new heights.”

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Interview availability:

Payam Mohseni will be in Tehran until early August and available for interviews while there.

To make interview arrangements, contact: Sharon Wilke, Association Director of Communications   Sharon_wilke@hks.harvard.edu; 617.495.9857