In recent months, the Islamic Republic of Iran has experienced the most significant and radical wave of protests in over four decades. These demonstrations have been met with an exceptionally violent response by the state, resulting in the deaths of many thousands. This talk examines the current predicament of the Iranian state, assesses the strengths and limitations of the opposition movement, and explores the prospects for external intervention. It concludes by outlining possible scenarios for Iran’s political trajectory in the period ahead.

Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi is Vice Provost and Dean of College of Arts, Sciences, and Education at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He is the author of  Iranian Intellectuals and the West: Tormented Triumph of Nativism (Syracuse, 1996); co-author, with Kourosh Rahimkhani of Post-revolutionary Iran: A Political Handbook (Syracuse, 2018); and editor of Mirror for the Muslim Prince: Islam and Theory of Statecraft (Syracuse, 2013).

He is frequently consulted by both government entities and such national and international media outlets as Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Economist, Guardian, LA Times, NPR, New York Times, Reuters, Spiegel, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.