Mehdi Khalaji is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, focusing on the politics of Iran and Shi'ite groups in the Middle East. A Shi'ite theologian by training, he has also served on the editorial boards of two prominent Iranian periodicals and produced for the BBC as well as the US government's Persian news service.

No Nuclear Compromise

[caption id="attachment_55229792" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Ayatollah Khamenei criticizes Western influence on Iran, during a speech…

The Future of the Marjayia

[caption id="attachment_55230374" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="The Ancient City of Qom in Iran, the largest centre for Shi'a…

The Clerics vs. Modernity

[caption id="attachment_55232198" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="An Iranian worker puts the final touches to a mural of Iran's supreme…

Authority, Strengthened by Silence

[caption id="attachment_55236210" align="alignnone" width="620"] Theology students talking in the courtyard of Feyzieh seminary in the holy city of…

Déjà Vu in Cairo

[caption id="attachment_55238795" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Egyptian Salafists shout slogans during a demonstration demanding the…