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“Iran’s Rise and Rivalry with the US in the Middle East” – A Book Talk with Professor Mohsen Milani

Examine the origins and outlook for Iran’s long cold war with the United States.

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April 3, 2025

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Iran’s cold war with the US can only be understood through examining the country’s long history of empire, invasion and containment. In his new book, Mohsen Milani provides fascinating details about how this antagonism began before the 1979 revolution, how the US inadvertently boosted Iranian influence by invading Iraq and why Iran’s rigid anti-Americanism and Israeli rejectionism are ultimately unsustainable.

Featured Speakers

Mohsen Milani, Professor of Politics and the Director of the Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies, University of South Florida

Dr. Mohsen Milani is a Professor of Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies at the University of South Florida. His extensive body of work on Iranian politics and foreign and security policies includes “The Making of Iran’s Islamic Revolution: From Monarchy to Islamic Republic.” His latest book explores Tehran’s strategic logic behind its policies toward the US, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Barbara Slavin, Distinguished Fellow, Stimson Center (Moderator)

Barbara Slavin is a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University. Prior to joining Stimson, she founded and directed the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council and led a bi-partisan task force on Iran. The author of Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the US and the Twisted Path to Confrontation (2007), she is a regular commentator on US foreign policy and Iran on NPR, PBS and C-Span.

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