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…

Heated Words, Cool Calculation

[caption id="attachment_55245208" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Iranian Revolutionary Guards march during a parade commemorating the thirty-first…

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…

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…

Ahmadinejad's About Face

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

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 Twin Challenges

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

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…