In this Crown Conversation, we spoke to Hadi Kahalzadeh, Gary Samore, and Naghmeh Sohrabi to assess the consequences of the Iran-Israel-U.S. war for Iran’s domestic politics, economic future, and the prospects for diplomacy.
We marked 20 years of bridging scholarship and real-world insight on the Middle East with an anniversary symposium exploring the biggest challenges facing the Middle East and opportunities for optimism.
Killian Clarke argues that oil-rich states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE use their oil abundance not just to insulate their own populations from demands for political change but to actively undermine democratic movements across the region.
Abdel Monem Said Aly, Shai Feldman, and Khalil Shikaki draw on decades of scholarship and, inspired by the post-conflict transformation after the Second World War, present a bold vision for pathways to peace and the challenges that must be overcome.
The Crown Center for Middle East Studies is committed to conducting balanced and dispassionate research of the modern Middle East that meets the highest academic standards. The Center seeks to help make decision- and opinion-makers better informed about the region. The scope of the center's research includes the 22 members of the Arab League as well as Turkey, Iran and Israel. The Crown Center's approach is multidisciplinary in its study of the politics, economics, history, security, sociology and anthropology of the region's states and societies.
The Crown Center marked 20 years of bridging scholarship and real-world insight on the Middle East with an anniversary symposium on April 23–24, bringing together leading Crown scholars — past and present — to explore two pressing questions: What are the biggest challenges facing the Middle East? And where are the opportunities for optimism?
Visit the event page – Recordings now available
On June 23, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel after twelve days of airstrikes and counterstrikes that left more than six hundred people dead in Iran, twenty-eight dead in Israel, and thousands injured on both sides. Just two days earlier, the United States had bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow. Iran responded by launching missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar, echoing its reaction to the 2020 killing of General Qasim Soleimani.
For years, U.S. policymakers debated striking Iran’s nuclear sites but stopped short of crossing that red line. A direct war between Israel and Iran was long seen as the most dangerous escalation of their enduring hostilities. Now, that line has been crossed. With the fighting paused, this Crown Conversation brings together three Crown experts—Hadi Kahalzadeh, junior research fellow, Gary Samore, Crown Family Director and Professor of the Practice of Politics, and Naghmeh Sohrabi, Director for Research and the Charles (Corky) Goodman Professor of Middle East History—to assess the consequences of the Iran–Israel–U.S. war, particularly for Iran’s domestic politics, economic future, and the prospects for diplomacy.
The Crown Center is dedicated to sharing balanced and dispassionate research on the Middle East. Please see the Crown Center analyses which delve into the roots and evolution of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Image credit: Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo
Counter/Argument: A Middle East Podcast is produced by the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. Through conversations with scholars and practitioners encompassing a variety of disciplines and perspectives, each episode will debunk key misconceptions about the contemporary Middle East. "Counter/Argument" is committed to a balanced and dispassionate approach to the region and to making scholarship more widely accessible. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
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Image credit: Chae Lee