Commonwealth Club Event: "Iran in Crisis"

Join the Commonwealth Club of California on Jan. 22, 2026 to hear Banafsheh Keynoush and Dalia Dassa Kaye discuss what's behind the recent protests in Iran and whether the U.S. will attack the Iranian regime.

HOW TO WATCH:
This event is $10 for online tickets, and you must register at the link below, at which point you'll be emailed a link to the online event - https://commonwealthclub.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/instances/a0FVb00000BuNQDMA3

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
Iran’s authoritarian government has faced widespread protests in recent weeks, marking the most extensive unrest the country has seen in decades. The demonstrations, which began at the end of 2025, were triggered by an economic crisis and plummeting currency values. Tehran has responded with a violent crackdown leading to thousands of deaths. President Donald Trump initially responded by threatening military action. Will he follow through?

Join us for a conversation between Iran expert Banafsheh Keynoush and UCLA professor and fellow Iran scholar Dalia Dassa Kaye about the latest developments in the crisis, possible U.S. responses, and what it all means for the region.

They’ll also discuss Dassa Kaye’s new book Enduring Hostility, which explores how America's Iran policy is made, the people who make it, and the underlying ideas and perceptions that inform it. The book looks back at U.S. policy toward Iran over the past four decades to help us look ahead, offering wider lessons for understanding American foreign policymaking and providing critical insights at a pivotal time of heightened military tensions in and around the Middle East.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER & MODERATOR:

• Dalia Dassa Kaye is a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and director of its Initiative on Regional Security Architectures., as well as a former senior political scientist and the director of the Center of Middle East Public Policy at the RAND Corporation. She's also the author of Enduring Hostility: The Making of America's Iran Policy (2025).
• Banafsheh Keynoush, the moderator, is an International Geopolitical Consultant and iIndependent Scholar of International Law, Politics and Middle East Studies. She is the author of Saudi Arabia and Iran: Friends or Foes? (2016) and The World Powers and Iran: Before, During and After the Nuclear Deal (2022). She received her PhD from Tufts University, and now serves as the Chair of the Middle East Member-led Forum at Commonwealth Club World Affairs.

ABOUT THE EVENT HOST:
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. Every year, they present more than 450 forums on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy. Their stated mission is to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. To learn more, go to: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/who-we-are
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