John Limbert

John Limbert is a retired Foreign Service Officer and academic. In 2018 he ended 12 years as Class of 1955 Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy. During a 33-year career in the United States Foreign Service, he served in the Middle East and Islamic Africa and was ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.  In 2009-2010 he came out of retirement to serve as deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern (Iranian) Affairs. Ambassador Limbert holds his Ph.D. from Harvard University in history and Middle Eastern studies.  He taught in Iran as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kurdistan (1964-66) and as an instructor at Shiraz University (1969-72).  He has written numerous articles and books on Middle Eastern subjects including Iran at War with History (Westview Press, 1987), Shiraz in the Age of Hafez (University of Washington Press, 2004), and Negotiating with Iran (U.S. Institute of Peace, 2009).