Senior Fellow, AGSIW
Ali Alfoneh is a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He is a political scientist by training and the originator of the theory of transformation of the Islamic Republic into a military dictatorship. Alfoneh first put forward the theory in the spring 2006 edition of Udenrigs, journal of The Danish Foreign Policy Society. In the United States since 2007, Alfoneh advanced the theory in a series of essays published by the American Enterprise Institute culminating in Iran Unveiled: How the Revolutionary Guards are Transforming Iran from Theocracy into Military Dictatorship published by AEI Press in April 2013. He is also the author of Political Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Demise of the Clergy and the Rise of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (2020).
The May 26 edition of the Iran Media Review considers how Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is publicly distancing himself from the restoration of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
Rather than a change of policy, the appointment of Ali Akbar Ahmadian may be more about who gets credit for Iran’s diplomatic initiatives.
The May 23 edition of the Iran Media Review examines commentary on the recently established committee to investigate Iran’s 2022 protests.
The May 19 edition of the Iran Media Review highlights commentary on the prospects of Iran and Egypt restoring diplomatic relations.
The May 16 edition of the Iran Media Review explores the toll power outages are taking on Iran’s steel industry, a key sector of the Iranian economy.
The May 12 edition of the Iran Media Review highlights commentary praising the performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force since the killing of Major General Qassim Suleimani.
The May 9 edition of the Iran Media Review examines religious leaders’ frustration with the decline of Shia Islam in Iran.
The May 5 edition of the Iran Media Review highlights a former regime official’s urgent call for reform.
With Sultan Haitham’s planned trip to Tehran to mediate between Iran and the United States, the Omani leader appears to be following his predecessor’s path as a regional interlocutor.
The May 2 edition of the Iran Media Review highlights commentary on the prospects and merits of Iran normalizing relations with Bahrain.
