In this Crown Conversation, we spoke to Dina Esfandiary and Hadi Kahalzadeh about Iranian President Pezeshkian’s first fifty days in office, potential shifts in Iran's domestic and foreign policies, and the challenges that lie ahead.
Join us for a discussion on the Israel-Hamas War and paths to peace with Shai Feldman, Abdel Monem Said Aly, and Khalil Shikaki, co-authors of "Arabs and Israelis: Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East."
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.
On July 28, 2024, Masoud Pezeshkian took office as the ninth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran after winning a special election to replace former President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May. Pezeshkian’s victory surprised many Iran observers, raising questions about the future of Iran after two decades of conservative rule. In this Crown Conversation, we spoke to Dina Esfandiary, Senior Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, and Hadi Kahalzadeh, junior research fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, about Pezeshkian’s first fifty days in office, potential shifts in Iran's domestic and foreign policies, and the challenges that lie ahead. They examine the forces shaping Pezeshkian’s new government and Iran's regional strategy, the prospects for a new nuclear deal with the U.S., and the impact of Iran’s economic crisis and ongoing political conflict over mandatory veiling and the succession of the Supreme Leader.
Image credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP
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.
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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