WASHINGTON (April 15, 2024)– Iran launched 300 missiles and drones towards Israel this past weekend. Israel, with the help of its allies, was able to successfully dismantle most threats before they were able to strike. These developments have lead to Israel to weigh its military response of a ground invasion in Rafah as others tensions in the Middle East rise.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations Specialists Shannon Mitchell at [email protected] or Cate Douglass at [email protected].
Gordon Gray is the Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the GW Elliott School of International Affairs. Prior to his retirement from the U.S. government after 35 years of public service, he was the U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia from 2009 until 2012, witnessing the start of the Arab Spring and directing the U.S. response in support of Tunisia’s transition. From 2008-2009, he served in Iraq as Senior Advisor to the Ambassador, focusing on governance and infrastructure in the southern provinces. His other foreign assignments included promotion of U.S. interests in the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs as well as posts in Egypt, Canada, Jordan, Pakistan, and Morocco. Ambassador Gray can discuss rising tensions in the region and U.S. foreign policy and involvement.
Barbara Slavin, Lecturer at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is an expert in Iran relations. Slavin is a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center, founded and directed the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council and led a bi-partisan task force on Iran. As a career journalist, Slavin covered key foreign policy issues such as the US-led ‘war on terrorism’, policy toward ‘rogue’ states, the Iran-Iraq war and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Sina Azodi, professorial lecturer, is an expert on international relations of the Middle East, Iranian foreign policy, U.S.-Iranian relations, nuclear non-proliferation, Iran's nuclear program, and Iranian politics. Azodi's current research involves exploring the roots of the Iranian nuclear program. His dissertation "Iran's Nuclear Program: A Struggle for Security Modernity " critically investigates the evolution of Iranian nuclear program since its inception in 1950s until 2015.
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