About Speaker

Ray Takeyh is Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is, most recently, the author of The Last Shah: America, Iran and the Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty.

In addition, he is the coauthor of The Pragmatic Superpower: Winning the Cold War in the Middle East and Revolution & Aftermath: Forging a New Strategy Toward Iran. He is author of three previous books, Guardians of the Revolution: Iran and the World in the Age of the Ayatollahs, Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic, and The Origins of the Eisenhower Doctrine: The U.S., Britain, and Nasser’s Egypt, 1952-1957.

Takeyh is a prolific author of articles and opinion pieces in major news outlets including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Foreign Affairs. Takeyh has testified frequently before Congressional committees. Prior to joining CFR, he served as a senior advisor on Iran at the State Department and was a fellow at the Yale University, The Washington Institute of Near East Policy, and the Middle East Center at University of California, Berkeley. Takeyh holds a doctorate in modern history from Oxford University.