Avatar Mehdi Khalaji

Mehdi Khalaji

Mehdi Khalaji is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.


Commentaries by Mehdi Khalaji

  • Newsart for The Rowhani Front

    The Rowhani Front

    WASHINGTON, DC – On June 17, at his first press conference as Iran’s President-elect, Hassan Rowhani broke little new ground in the Islamic …

  • Newsart for After Ahmadinejad

    After Ahmadinejad

    WASHINGTON, DC – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s preferred successor, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, will not be running in the June 14 ele…

  • Newsart for The Enduring Egypt-Iran Divide

    The Enduring Egypt-Iran Divide

    WASHINGTON, DC – Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi may look besieged at home, but by brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Novemb…

  • Newsart for Iran’s Electoral Strategy

    Iran’s Electoral Strategy

    WASHINGTON, DC – Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have again hit a wall, but the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a…

  • Newsart for The Ayatollah Contemplates Compromise

    The Ayatollah Contemplates Compromise

    WASHINGTON, DC – The recent nuclear talks in Istanbul between the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, plus German…

  • Newsart for Iran’s Rattling Saber

    Iran’s Rattling Saber

    WASHINGTON, DC – As the West ratchets up its economic pressure on Iran to halt its drive to develop nuclear weapons, the Islamic Republic’s …

  • Newsart for The Ayatollah and the Witches

    The Ayatollah and the Witches

    WASHINGTON, DC – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has now made the mistake that all Iranian presidents make: he has challenged the authority of the count…

  • Newsart for Iran’s Supreme Power Struggle

    Iran’s Supreme Power Struggle

    WASHINGTON, DC – Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has never been happy about the status of the Iranian presidency – neither du…

  • Newsart for Iran’s Republic of Fear

    Iran’s Republic of Fear

    WASHINGTON, DC – Iran’s clerical regime governs by a simple formula: he who is the most frightening, wins. “Victory by terrifying” is trope …

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Recent comment received by Mehdi Khalaji

  • The Rowhani Front

    Michelle Williams: Well, he did not exactly say that about sanctions. Yes, they are costly. But, one should admit, the cost is not as big as claimed. Many Iranian exporters have successfully diverted trade from th…

  • After Ahmadinejad

    Faruk Timuroglu: Insightful and enlightening information. Thanks Mr. Khalaji. However, a foresight about what will happen to Iran after President Bashar Al Assad of Syria – if gone any time soon – would be more intere…