Alex Vatanka is an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. Born in Iran, he was the senior Middle East analyst at Jane’s Information Group from 2001 to 2010. He is also a senior fellow in Middle East Studies at the US Air Force Special Operations School (USAFSOS).

The Odd Couple

[caption id="attachment_55230114" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani meets with Ayatollah Ali Khamanei in…

Juggling East and West

[caption id="attachment_55250056" align="alignnone" width="618"] Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a press conference at the Conference on…

Iran’s Looming Tug-of-War

[caption id="attachment_55249770" align="alignnone" width="620"] A combination of file pictures shows Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L…

Security Begins At Home

[caption id="attachment_55249290" align="alignnone" width="620"] Iranian soldiers participate in military manoeuvres at Sistan-Baluchestan province,…

Sweet-Talking in Tehran

[caption id="attachment_55248847" align="alignnone" width="620"] Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah (L) and Iranian Foreign…

Dreaming Big at Davos

[caption id="attachment_55248305" align="alignnone" width="620"] Iran's president Hassan Rouhani addresses the World Economic Forum in Davos on…

Rouhani Approaches a Crossroads

[caption id="attachment_55247639" align="alignnone" width="620"] Iranian President Hassan Rouhani leaves the podium after delivering his speech…

No Meltdown in Tehran

[caption id="attachment_55247109" align="alignnone" width="594"] Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R), with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif…

Baluchestan: Iran's Tragic Frontier

[caption id="attachment_55246456" align="alignnone" width="620"] An Iranian border guard looks through a pair of binoculars to monitor a border area…

Timeworn “Resistance”

[caption id="attachment_55245834" align="alignnone" width="620"] Major General Hassan Firoozabadi (C) salutes alongside other military commanders as…