Iranians are facing growing difficulties as their economy limps under sanctions and corruption and their government resuming efforts to force women to wear the hijab a year after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the “morality police.” With no end in sight to Iran’s nuclear advances or provision of drones to Russia, Tehran’s leaders are doubling down on a “Look East” foreign policy that is constricting the country’s options and presenting new challenges to Western governments.
Featured Speakers
Negar Mortazavi, Independent Journalist, Senior Fellow, Center for International Policy
Negar Mortazavi is an award-winning journalist and political commentator, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy (CIP) where she is host and editor of the Iran Podcast. Negar has been covering Iranian and Middle Eastern politics as well as US foreign policy towards the Middle East for over a decade and has written for Foreign Policy, Politico, Intercept, and The Independent.
Kelsey Davenport, Director for Nonproliferation Policy, Arms Control Association
Kelsey Davenport is the Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association, where she focuses on the nuclear and missile programs in Iran, North Korea, India, and Pakistan and on international efforts to prevent proliferation and nuclear terrorism. She also reports on developments in these areas for Arms Control Today and runs the Arms Control Association’s project assessing the effectiveness of multilateral voluntary initiatives that contribute to nonproliferation efforts.
Farnaz Fassihi, United Nations Bureau Chief, the New York Times
Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations Bureau Chief for the New York Times. She has been writing about Iran for over two decades and for the past few years investigating the shadow war between Iran and Israel. Previously she was a senior writer and war correspondent for the Wall Street Journal for 17 years based in the Middle East, covering conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, Israel, Syria, and Iran. She is the author of a book on the Iraq War titled, “Waiting for An Ordinary Day.”
Nader Hashemi, Director, Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University.
Nader Hashemi is the Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is the author of Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies (Oxford University Press, 2009) and co-editor of several books including, The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran’s Future.
Moderator
Barbara Slavin, Distinguished Fellow, Stimson Center
Barbara Slavin is a Distinguished Fellow, The Stimson Center and a lecturer 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.