Since late December 2025, Iran has faced a marked intensification of internal pressures amid a deepening economic crisis, nationwide protests, and an unprecedented security response by the authorities. These domestic challenges have unfolded against the backdrop of heightened external tensions, including the fallout from direct confrontation with Israel in mid‑2025 and a hardening standoff with the United States over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and regional posture. While the Islamic Republic has weathered periods of instability before, the convergence of internal dissent and external pressure is raising new questions about regime resilience and escalation risks with implications for the entire Middle East region.

To examine these dynamics, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center will host a panel discussion on Tuesday, February 24, at 4:00 PM EET/ 9:00 AM EST. The discussion will explore the trajectory and durability of Iran’s current protest movement, the regime’s security and political response, Iran’s calculations vis‑à‑vis Israel, and prospects for confrontation or deescalation with the United States. Panelists will also assess how domestic pressures may shape Iran’s regional behavior going forward.

The panel will feature Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, Middle East and North Africa senior analyst at Control Risks, Nicole Grajewski, nonresident scholar in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Hamidreza Azizi, visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

The event will be held in English and moderated by Maha Yahya, director at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center.

Viewers are invited to submit questions via the live chat feature on Facebook and YouTube.

For more information, please contact Najwa Yassine at najwa.yassine@carnegie-mec.org.