Iranian Protests and US Policy on Iran

Find a summary of the event here.

Starting December 28, thousands of Iranians took to the streets in protests that quickly spread to over 10 cities across the country. The Trump administration, which refused to certify the JCOPA back in October 2017, gave rhetorical support to the recent protests. The Trump administration has identified Iran as one of the foremost challenges for US policy in the Middle East. The administration’s national security strategy refers to the “interconnected problems of Iranian expansion, state collapse, jihadist ideology, socio-economic stagnation, and regional rivalries have convulsed the Middle East.” The Trump administration’s Iran policy is likely to impact the regional geopolitical developments in the years ahead in significant ways.

What kind of an impact can the US have on the unfolding events in Iran? How will the US-Iran relationship be defined in the Trump era given the president’s advocacy for more economic sanctions against Iran? How might regional dynamics be affected and how will regional actors adjust to the new Iran policy under President Trump?

Please join the SETA Foundation at Washington DC for a discussion with a panel of distinguished experts on the regional implications of the Iranian protests, and the future of the Trump administration’s Iran policy.

Speakers:

            Trita Parsi, President, National Iranian American Council

            Barbara Slavin, Director, Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council

            Alex Vatanka, Senior Fellow, Middle East Institute

            Kadir Ustun, Executive Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC

Moderator:

           Kilic B. Kanat, Research Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC