To gain a deeper understanding into today's conflicts within the Middle East, our focus sharpens on two pivotal forces: Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose roles hold paramount significance in shaping the region's contemporary landscape. This week host Elisa revisits two key conversations from our archive. First, Dr. Roham Alvandi of the London School of Economics and Political Science discusses the shift in Iran's governing structures from the coup in 1953 to the revolution in 1979. Next, Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations dives into the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty and how the 1979 Iranian Revolution marked a critical turning point in US-Iran relations.

Dr. Roham Alvandi is Associate Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science:

https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-history/people/academicstaff/alvandi/alvandi

Ray Takeyh is Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations:

https://www.cfr.org/expert/ray-takeyh

References:

NSLT Ep. 231, Iran Series: Coups and the Cold War Era with Dr. Roham Alvandi (Part 1):

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000588399346

NSLT Ep. 229, Iran Series: The Rise of the Islamic Republic with Ray Takeyh (Part 1):

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000585769361

Alvandi, Roham. Nixon, Kissinger, and the Shah the United States and Iran in the Cold War. Oxford University Press, 2016:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/nixon-kissinger-and-the-shah-9780190610685?prevSortField=9&q=*&resultsPerPage=100&lang=en&cc=gb#

Alvandi, Roham. The Age of Aryamer: Late Pahlavi Iran and Its Global Entanglements. The Gingko Library, 2018:

https://www.gingko.org.uk/publishing/books/the-age-of-aryamehr/?fbclid=IwAR0Xbu7sDHE8wbin2QUeMxaAfVMa32U24FUrsUY3FEScx3XPFM_NzgOfrVQ

Takeyh, Ray. The Last Shah: America, Iran, and the Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty. Yale University Press, 2021:

https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300264654/the-last-shah/