Sanam Vakil is an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy.

Recent articles

The anticipation of a vital presidential vote in Iran creates an expectation of change that political conditions may not satisfy, say Sanam Vakil & David Hayes.

Tehran's factional disputes are rooted in the very character of the Iranian regime. They ensnare even its supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But this can also mean that these figures' political resilience in face of criticism can be underestimated, says Sanam Vakil.

The repair of a generation of hostility needs work within as well as between Washington and Tehran, says Sanam Vakil.

Iran’s seizure of British military personnel in the contested waters of the Persian Gulf is an instrument both of domestic pressure-politics and foreign-policy leverage, says Sanam Vakil.