Ali Vaez

Ali Vaez

Senior Adviser to the President & Project Director, Iran

Crisis Group Role

Ali Vaez is Crisis Group’s Iran Project Director and Senior Adviser to the President. He led Crisis Group’s efforts in helping to bridge the gaps between Iran and the P5+1 that led to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Previously, he served as a Senior Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and was the Iran Project Director at the Federation of American Scientists. He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is a co-author of How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare.

Professional Background

Trained as a scientist, Vaez has more than a decade of experience in journalism. He has written widely on Iranian affairs and is a regular contributor to mainstream media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs. He is a frequent guest on CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and NPR. Vaez was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University from 2008 to 2010 and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Geneva and a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Languages

  • Persian
  • French
  • English

In The News

19 Jun 2024
The next Iranian government … [is] not at all eager to rely on Russia and China for their economic needs, and they want sanctions relief. The Nation

Ali Vaez

Senior Adviser to the President & Project Director, Iran
22 May 2024
The Islamic Republic has really focused on ideological conformity at the top rather than legitimacy from below. New York Times

Ali Vaez

Senior Adviser to the President & Project Director, Iran
7 May 2024
Iran is more aggressive in the region, more repressive at home, and closer to the verge of nuclear weapons than ever before. Voice of America

Ali Vaez

Senior Adviser to the President & Project Director, Iran
14 Apr 2024
Iran’s government appears to have concluded that the Damascus strike [by Israel] was a strategic inflection point, where failure to retaliate would carry more downsides t... New York Times

Ali Vaez

Senior Adviser to the President & Project Director, Iran
13 Apr 2024
I don't think Iran wants to sacrifice Hezbollah or bring it into the fray [with Israel]. It is the top of its spear, and Iran wants to preserve it. BBC

Ali Vaez

Senior Adviser to the President & Project Director, Iran

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