Ahmad Khalid Majidyar is a Middle East & South Asia analyst with a focus on Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was previously a senior fellow and the director of IranObserved Project at the Middle East Institute.
From 2008 to 2015, Majidyar worked as a senior research associate at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he co-authored two monographs on Iran: Iranian Influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq and Afghanistan (AEI 2012), and The Shi’ites of the Middle East: An Iranian fifth column? (AEI 2014). He also published a number of research papers on Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
As an instructor with the Naval Postgraduate School’s Leadership Development and Education for Sustained Peace program (2008-2016), Majidyar provided graduate-level seminars to more than 3,000 U.S. and NATO military leaders on Afghanistan and the broader region. In addition, he has provided briefings on Iran and Afghanistan at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Joint IED Defeat Organization, the National Defense University, the State Department, and Congress; and he has spoken as a guest analyst at think tanks, universities, and world affairs councils.
Majidyar’s articles on Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan have been published in Foreign Policy, The New York Times, Fareed Zakaria’s GPS, Fox News, U.S. News & World Report, Daily Telegraph, and Forbes, among others. He has also discussed Middle Eastern topics on the BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera English, Sky News, CBC Canada, Bloomberg News and Voice of America’s Dari, Farsi, Urdu and English services.
Previously, Majidyar worked as a media analyst with the BBC Monitoring in Afghanistan and as a humanitarian aid worker with the UNHCR in Pakistan.
The Latest from Ahmad Majidyar
Iran and Russia Threaten U.S. after Syria Attack
A joint operational command center of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s foreign backers has warned that it will forcefully respond to any future U.S. military attack against Syria, the Iranian media reports.
Senior I.R.G.C. Commander Killed in Iran’s Restive Province Just Days after ISIS Video
A senior Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) commander has been assassinated in Iran’s restive Sistan and Baluchestan Province, the Iranian media reports. According to I.R.G.C.-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, Ruhollah A’ali, an I.R.G.C. battalion commander in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan, was “martyred” by “Takfiri terrorists” last night. Takfiri is a term Iranian leaders use for Sunni militants. The commander was affiliated with the I.R.G.C.’s 110th Salman Brigade in the province. The two assassins were reportedly killed by Basij forces.
U.S. Strike in Syria Prompts Angry Reaction, Threats from Tehran
Iranian officials condemned the Trump administration’s missile strikes against a Syrian airfield used for an alleged chemical attack against civilians. “We strongly condemn any unilateral military action and missile attack against the Shayrat airbase in Syria by American warships.
Iran-Controlled Militia Group Says U.S. Strike Won’t Alter War Trajectory in Syria
A prominent Iran-backed Iraqi militia group fighting in Syria has announced that the U.S. military strike will not change the trajectory of the Syrian war, the Iranian media reports.
Top Iranian Cleric Defends Assad, Blames U.S. for Chemical Attack
A senior Iranian cleric defended the regime of Bashar al-Assad and accused the United States of providing terrorists with chemical weapons in Syria.
I.R.G.C. Media Defends Assad as U.S. Mulls Military Responses to Syrian Chemical Attack
While more evidence is surfacing that suggests the Syrian army may have been behind the chemical attack that killed scores of civilians in Syria, Iranian media outlets affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) continue to defend the regime of Bashar al-Assad. They argue that Damascus was not responsible for the killings. “Without doubt, the claims by Syrian opposition groups and some western and Arab countries that the Syrian army has used chemical weapons in Idlib can be categorically rejected.
British Premier’s Remarks in Riyadh Prompt Angry Reaction from Tehran
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has reacted angrily to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s latest comments about Tehran’s destabilizing role in the Middle East, the ministry’s official website re
Top Iraqi Militia Leader: Fighting for Iran under Soleimani's leadership Is “Blessing from God”
The deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) has said that he takes a pride in being a “
Afghan, Iranian Officials Spar over Tehran’s Support for Taliban
The Iranian and Afghan delegations to the 136th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union have had acrimonious exchanges over Tehran’s support for the Taliban, the Iranian media reports.
Authorities in Iran Detain Sunni Leader for Opposing I.R.G.C.’s Role in Syria
Scores of Sunni Balochs demonstrated in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province on Tuesday to protest the detention of a Sunni religious leader, the Iranian media reports.
US-Pakistan Counterterrorism Needs a New Focus
You can read the full article at The Diplomat.
While the U.S. and Pakistani counterterrorism efforts have degraded al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), sectarian violence across the country continues unabated and threatens to further destabilize Pakistan and the broader region.
