Trita Parsi

Trita Parsi is a prominent Iranian-Swedish-American author, scholar, and political analyst known for his influential work in U.S.-Middle East relations, particularly U.S.-Iran diplomacy. As a leading voice on foreign policy and international affairs, Parsi has played a vital role in shaping public and scholarly discourse around the potential for diplomacy to resolve long-standing geopolitical conflicts.

Born in Iran and raised in Sweden, Parsi brings a multicultural perspective to his work, enriching his analyses with a nuanced understanding of both Western and Middle Eastern political cultures. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where his research focused on Israeli-Iranian relations and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. He also earned a master’s degree in economics and another in international relations, further grounding his policy insights in rigorous academic training.

Parsi is best known as the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), an organization he led from 2002 to 2018 to advocate for greater understanding between the U.S. and Iran, and for the rights and representation of Iranian-Americans. Under his leadership, NIAC became a key player in policy debates surrounding Iran, particularly during the negotiations leading up to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.

A prolific author, Parsi has written several widely acclaimed books. His debut work, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States (2007), won the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order and challenged prevailing narratives about the inevitability of conflict between Iran and Israel. His subsequent books, A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran (2012) and Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy (2017), offer detailed insider accounts of the U.S.-Iran negotiations and make a compelling case for diplomacy over confrontation.

Currently, Parsi serves as the Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a trans partisan think tank founded in 2019 to promote a foreign policy centered on diplomatic engagement and military restraint. At Quincy, he continues to challenge the Washington consensus on endless military interventions and advocates for a foreign policy that prioritizes realism and restraint.

Fluent in several languages and a frequent commentator in international media, Parsi's work bridges the worlds of academia, advocacy, and policy. His scholarship and activism exemplify the role of public intellectuals in informing and transforming international relations, especially in an era of renewed great power competition and shifting global alliances.