Alex Vatanka

Alex Vatanka is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C. His most recent book is The Battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran: The United States, Foreign Policy, and Political Rivalry Since 1979.

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…

The Great Game Continues

[caption id="attachment_55237835" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Two Afghan National Police keep watch on the outskirts of Herat, near the border…

Ahmadinejad’s Twin Challenges

[caption id="attachment_55239799" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad smiles as he meets his Pakistani counterpart…

Problems in the Pipeline

[caption id="attachment_55241018" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Iranians work on a section of the Iran–Pakistan pipeline after the project was…

Ahmadinejad's About Face

[caption id="attachment_55242282" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (L) flash…

Tehran Seeks to Keep its Options Open

[caption id="attachment_55243379" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Egyptian protesters raise their shoes as they shout political and religious…

Khamenei’s Face-Saving Exercise

[caption id="attachment_55244469" align="alignnone" width="594"] A security officer walks past a portrait of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei…