The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies Iranian Studies Unit is holding its Fifth Annual Conference, titled “Iran and the Changing Strategic Landscape of the Middle East,” on 17-18 September 2025.
The Israeli genocide has triggered a chain of events across the region, including the 12 Day War precipitated by Israel’s 13 June 2025 attack on Iran. As a result of the Israeli threat before and after its attack on Iran, Tehran’s foreign and security policies have had to adapt to shifting regional dynamics. Iran’s network of non-state alliances has been heavily impacted by Israeli actions in Palestine and beyond. Iran’s current geo-political posture emerges in a context where the former Bashar al-Assad-led Syria has been ousted, and Hezbollah – a key ally of Tehran and a central player in the “Axis of Resistance” – has lost its most influential leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
The conference examines various aspects of Iranian foreign and security policy in relation to its immediate environment and the rest of the Middle East. Iran’s evolving regional position in light of Israel’s war on Gaza, Iranian relations with regional non-state actors, the changing position of the “Axis of Resistance”, Iran’s relations with the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the impact of regional developments on Iran’s domestic politics, are among the main themes that will be discussed in this year’s conference of the Iranian Studies Unit.
The conference will feature more than 20 participants, and a keynote lecture titled “Iran’s Perspective on Security Circumstances in the Region,” by Dr. Saeed Khatibzadeh, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister and President of the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS).
Conference participants include Abbas Maleki, Abdolrasool Divsallar, Adel Al Hawatmeh, Ahmed Abozaid, Bayram Sinkaya, Ebrahim Meraji, Gawdat Bahgat, Hamidreza Azizi, Jawad El Kassemi, Kahlan Al Shujaa, Kardo Rached, Katherine Holden, Kawther Fattahi, Khalifa Al Kuwari, Maryam Hasheminejad, Mehran Haghirian, Mohammad Amin Ahmadi, Mohammad Homayounvash, Mohammad Kalantari, Mohammad Seyam, Pınar Arıkan-Sinkaya, Reza Ekhtiari Amiri, Rooholamin Saeidi, Roxana Niknami, Saeed Shokoohi, Sobia Khursheed, Zakiyeh Yazdanshenas, and Zeinab Nikookar. Moderators include Abdelfattah Mady, Abdou Moussa, Aicha Elbasri, Ayat Hamdan, Emad Kaddorah, Laila Omar, and Mohammed Hemchi.
The conference will be held in-person at the Arab Center in Doha, Qatar. Interested members of the public can attend the conference in person in the auditorium on the Ground Floor of the new Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies building. Simultaneous translation will be provided in English and Arabic.
*** For more details, please see the Confrence Booklet.
