In this podcast, Carnegie-Tsinghua's Paul Haenle sat down with Karim Sadjadpour, a senior associate and Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Sadjadpour and Haenle examined how the domestic politics of Iran and the United States may have contributed to the emergence of President Rouhani’s charm offensive. They also discussed whether Iran is in the process of fundamentally reordering its foreign policy or if it merely seeks to make partial concessions in return for sanctions relief. Haenle and Sadjadpour examined regional reactions to a possible U.S.-Iranian détente, including Chinese, Israeli, and Saudi perspectives.

Karim Sadjadpour

Karim Sadjadpour is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment. A leading researcher on Iran, he has conducted dozens of interviews with senior  Iranian officials and hundreds with Iranian intellectuals, clerics, dissidents,  paramilitaries, businessmen, students, activists, and youth, among others.

Paul Haenle

Paul Haenle is the director of the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center. Prior to joining Carnegie, he served from June 2007 to June 2009 as the director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolian Affairs on the National Security Council staffs of former president George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.