Vali Nasser

Vali Nasser, Professor of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS and author on Iran’s grand strategy. He traces Iran’s revolutionary sovereignty focus and compares its path to China and Russia. He discusses how protests and war affect legitimacy, Iran’s preference for a prolonged asymmetric war, core aims like security guarantees and sanctions relief, and its strategy toward Gulf states and regional influence.

Lala Khalili, professor of Gulf studies and author, explains how the South Pars strike shook maritime chokepoints and global energy flows. Vali Nasr, Iranian-American international affairs scholar, outlines Iran’s long-game strategy, regional escalation risks, and possible endgames. They probe shipping dangers, petrocurrency shifts, military moves, and geopolitical ripple effects in short, sharp conversations.

Vali Nasser, a Johns Hopkins SAIS professor and Iran specialist, discusses Tehran’s push to widen and prolong conflict. He explains decentralized command, asymmetric attrition tactics, and how nationalism reshapes internal politics. He also covers regional economic warfare, Gulf states’ shifting security calculations, and what might force Iran to step back.