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Alex Vatanka

Alex Vatanka is the director of the Iran Program and a senior fellow in the Frontier Europe Initiative at the Middle East Institute in Washington. His most recent book is The Battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran: The United States, Foreign Policy, and Political Rivalry Since 1979.

Articles by Alex Vatanka

A woman walks past a mural showing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran on March 9.

Iran Needs a Cushion, and Europe Needs Gas

Analysis |

March 23, 2022, 5:26 PM

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi looks on during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Jan. 19, 2022.

A New Chapter for Iran and Russia

Analysis |

January 21, 2022, 6:11 PM

An Iranian woman walks past banners of ultraconservative cleric and presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, Iran, on June 17.

Khamenei Wants a Nuclear Deal Before Rouhani Leaves

Argument |

June 17, 2021, 4:09 PM

Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Christodoulides, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, and Emirati Presidential Advisor Anwar Gargash hold a press conference after meeting in the western Cypriot city of Paphos, on April 16.

Iran’s Biggest Problem Is Water

Argument |

May 24, 2021, 4:32 PM

An unexploded BM-30 Smerch missile is seen on the outskirts of Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, on Oct. 12.

Tehran’s Worst Nightmare

Argument |

October 14, 2020, 10:31 AM

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