Penn State School of International Affairs

In this conversation with SIA Director Dr. Mitchell Smith, Dr. Flynt Leverett, professor of international affairs and Asian studies at Penn State, discusses the role of Iran as an actor in the Middle East. Part of this discussion focuses specifically on how Iran's role impacts the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, but Dr. Leverett also examines the implications of Iran's involvement in the region more broadly.

An expert on the Middle East, energy and the economic dimensions of international security, and Chinese foreign policy, Dr. Leverett is part of the founding faculty at the Penn State School of International Affairs, and an affiliate faculty at Penn State Law in University Park and the Asian Studies Program.

From 1992 to 2003, Prof. Leverett had a distinguished career in the U.S. Government. He served nine years as senior Middle East analyst at the CIA. On the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, he earned a Superior Honor Award for his contributions to forming an international coalition against al-Qa’ida after the 9/11 attacks and to diplomatic efforts with Libya that led to the normalization of U.S.-Libyan relations after years of estrangement. In 2002, he went to the White House to serve as the National Security Council's senior director for Middle East affairs; he left government service in 2003 because of disagreements over Middle East policy and the conduct of the war on terror.