Alex Vatanka is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, specializing in Middle Eastern regional security with a focus on Iran. Previously a Senior Analyst at Jane’s Information Group in London, he also serves as a Senior Fellow in Middle East Studies at the US Air Force Special Operations School and as an Adjunct Professor at DISAS, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He has testified before the US Congress and lectured extensively for US government agencies, intelligence bodies, and international corporations. Born in Tehran, Vatanka holds a BA in Political Science from Sheffield University and an MA in International Relations from Essex University. He is fluent in Persian and Danish. He is the author of The Battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran (2021) and Iran and Pakistan (2015), and has contributed chapters to several edited volumes on authoritarianism, regional conflicts, and counterterrorism. His upcoming book is Grand Contest: The Rivalry of Iran, America and Israel in the Arab World.