Alex Vatanka

Alex Vatanka is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. He is the author of the forthcoming book The Making of Iranian Foreign Policy: Contested Ideology, Personal Rivalries and the Domestic Struggle to Define Iran’s Place in the World.

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Stories by Alex Vatanka
Missiles are seen in front of a portrait of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at a war exhibition south of Tehran on Sept. 25, 2005.

Iran’s IRGC Has Long Kept Khamenei in Power
Argument |
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, shake hands during their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Feb. 19.

China’s Great Game in Iran
Argument |
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif gestures during a press conference in Tehran on Feb. 13. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran’s Zarif Can’t Catch a Break
Argument |
An Iranian woman walks past a mural in Tehran on Nov. 5. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran and the United States Can be Friends
Argument |
Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech under portraits of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on June 3, 2014. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani’s Path to Becoming Supreme Leader
Argument |
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What U.S. Foreign Policy Will Look Like Under Socialism

Socialism: Why It’s Back and What It Means

Qassem Suleimani Wanted U.S. Troops Out of Iraq. If They Go, ISIS Will Be Back.

Putin Is Planning a Partial Retirement

Anatomy of an Accidental Shootdown
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