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The Middle East Studies Forum together with HH Sheikh Nasser al-Sabah Research Programme, Durham University, invites you to the online panel discussion:

‘JCPoA revival: implications for regional dynamics in the Persian Gulf’

with Dr Andreas Krieg (King’s College London), A/Prof Anicée Van Engeland,
(Cranfield University) and A/Prof Mahjoob Zweiri, (Qatar University)

Moderated by: Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh and Professor Anoush Ehteshami

Discussion Panel:

What would the revival of the JCPOA do the Persian Gulf region?

Expectations of talks between the United States and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program has raised concern amongst Iran’s Arab neighbours. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have expressed serious reservations about the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). The removal of US sanctions on Iran as part of the JCPOA is feared to give Iran a carte blanche and facilitate Iranian intervention in the region. Many of these concerns are shared in Israel and the United States, putting the Biden administration in a precarious position as it aims to bring back the stringent international monitoring regime stipulated in JCPoA to safeguard against the weaponization of Iran’s nuclear program. The challenge is made harder by the time pressure of Iran’s presidential election in June 2021, and the ramping up of anti-JCPoA voices in the establishment. The window of opportunity to revive the JCPoA is closing fast. This panel of experts will examine the prospects of the JCPoA revival and implications for regional dynamics in the Persian Gulf.

Key questions:

  • What are the drivers of the Biden Administration’s interest in the JCPoA?
  • What are the determinants of the Rouhani Administration’s decisions regarding a ‘JCPoA 2.0’?
  • How would Iran’s Gulf Arab neighbours view US-IRI negotiations on the JCPoA?
  • What are the concerns of the regional powers with the re-entry of the United States into the JCPoA?
  • What of China? How will Beijing interpret a constructive dialogue between Tehran and Washington?

You can access the webinar flyer here

Speaker bios:

Dr Andreas Krieg is an assistant professor at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, Royal College of Defence Studies, and fellow at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. He has spent fifteen years living, studying, and working across the MENA region. Andreas was able to complement his years in the Levant, i.e. Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and Palestine, with four years in Qatar where he was involved in delivering a strategic contract between the State of Qatar, the UK Ministry of Defence and King’s College London. In 2019 Andreas bundled his regional networks to set up a political risk consultancy firm in London with a regional focus, called MENA analytica.

A/Prof Mahjoob Zweiri is the Director of Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University. Associate Professor in Gulf Studies and Iran. 

A/Prof Anicee Van Engeland is an Associate Professor of international security and law at Cranfield University. Anicée’s main areas of research and practice are human rights law and humanitarian law with a focus on the Muslim work and an expertise in Iranian affairs. Anicée works on principles of international law and governance to accommodate cultural and religious specificities. Dr Van Engeland advises, trains and debriefs NGOs and international organisations’ staff. She also trains the armed forces and civil servants in the UK and around the world. 

Details:

15 April 2021
London: 11am – 12:30pm
Doha: 1pm – 2:30pm
Melbourne: 8pm – 9:30pm
Please join us via Zoom*

Please RSVP to mesf@deakin.edu.au by 13 April 2021

*Attendees will be provided with a Zoom link and password to access the webinar via a calendar invite sent to the email address registered with on the 14 April 2021

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