Iran, the US, and Israel: How did we get here?

The threat of war continues to loom over Iran. After more than two weeks of nationwide unrest that rocked the country, the protest movement appears temporarily contained following an intense and coordinated security crackdown. Meanwhile, outside actors openly brag about exploiting the situation for their ends, and reports suggest a military strike by the Trump Administration might be imminent. 

On Friday, Jan. 30th at 3 pm, NIAC President, Jamal Abdi, will join journalist and analyst Negar Mortazavi and award-winning foreign affairs correspondent and author of All the Shah’s Men, Stephen Kinzer, in conversation. The panel will unpack the current situation inside Iran and the geopolitical landscape, including U.S. and Israeli calculations following the 12-day war last June that killed hundreds of Iranian civilians, and where we go from here. 

Negar Mortazavi is an award-winning journalist and commentator, editor and host of the Iran Podcast, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy (CIP), and Nonresident Scholar at the Middle East Policy Council in Washington DC. She has been covering Iranian and Middle Eastern affairs as well as US foreign policy towards the Middle East for over a decade. She is a regular commentator for US and global media including CNN, NBC, NPR, BBC, France24, Aljazeera, among others. She has written for Foreign Policy magazine, Politico, The Intercept, and The Independent. She holds a Master’s degree from Brandeis University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston. 

Jamal Abdi is the President of the National Iranian American Council and the executive director of NIAC Action. He has served in this role since 2018. Prior to joining NIAC as Policy Director in 2009, he was a Policy Advisor on foreign policy, national security, and immigration issues in Congress. Jamal holds a B.A. from the University of Washington in Seattle, majoring in Political Science with a focus on International Relations. He has written for The New York Times, CNN, Foreign Policy, The Hill, and USA Today and blogs at The Huffington Post.  He is a frequent guest contributor in print, radio, and television, including appearances on Al Jazeera, NPR, BBC Radio, and VOA.

Stephen Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has covered more than 50 countries on five continents.  He was a New York Times foreign correspondent for 20 years and is now Senior Fellow at the Watson School of International and Public Affairs of Brown University and a Boston Globe opinion columnist.  His books include All the Shan’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror (2003).

The event will be online and presentations will be recorded.  Sponsored by NIAC and Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund, cosponsored by Veterans for Peace, Just Foreign Policy, About Face Northeast, Center for International Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation, and Military Families Speak Out.

Register to attend.