Iran and the Arab World After the Nuclear Deadline: Possible Scenarios

President Hassan Rouhani made clear during his recent trip to the United Nations General Assembly that if a nuclear deal is reached with the P5+1 in November, Iran is prepared to cooperate with Western governments on other issues, including Iran’s interventions and involvement in Arab states. As the deadline for a deal draws near, some Arab governments are concerned that even if Rouhani has the will to alter Iran’s Middle East policy, he lacks the political power to do so. What challenges will Rouhani face internally if he attempts to cooperate with Western powers in the Middle East on issues such as ISIS, Syria, and Iraq? Which institutions and players within the regime are likely to obstruct his efforts? What is the view from the Arab world? 

Watch video below or here.

 

Iran And The Arab World After The Nuclear Deadline: Possible Scenarios from Stimson Center on Vimeo.

WHAT: Panel discussion on Iran’s involvement and interventions in the Middle East and whether recent developments in nuclear talks will cause Iran to adopt a different course in the region.

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Panelists:

Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, Syracuse University. Founding Director, Middle Eastern Studies Program, Syracuse University

Dr. Boroujerdi is a Nonresident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., a member of the Board of Directors of the Near East Foundation, and a principal investigator of the Iran Data Portal. He served as the Founding Director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program at Syracuse University from 2003 to 2014. Since 1996 he has also served as the editor of the Modern Intellectual and Political History of the Middle East book series published by Syracuse University Press.

Abbas Kadhim, Senior Foreign Policy Fellow, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Dr. Abbas Kadhim is an academic and author with research interests in Iraq, Iran, Persian Gulf, and Islam. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006.  Between 2005 and 2013 Dr. Kadhim was an Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs/Middle East Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University. Prior to Joining SAIS, Dr. Kadhim held a Senior Government Affairs position at the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC.

Geneive Abdo (Moderator), Fellow, Middle East Program, the Stimson Center
 
Geneive Abdo is a fellow in Stimson’s Middle East program as well as a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. She specializes in issues regarding modern Iran and political Islam. She directs the U.S.-Iran Advisory Group, a program on Iran, in conjunction with Heinrich Boll Stiftung, North America. She is also the author of the recently published monograph, “The New Sectarianism: The Arab Uprisings and the Rebirth of the Shi’a- Sunni Divide,” published in April 2013 by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

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