Saeid Golkar

Saeid Golkar is the UC Foundation associate professor of political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a senior advisor at United Against Nuclear Iran.

Articles by Saeid Golkar
Iranians drive past a billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed during the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, on a street in Tehran on May 5.
Iranians drive past a billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed during the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, on a street in Tehran on May 5.

War Handed Public Space Back to Iran’s Regime

Argument
Saeid Golkar
a man draped in an Iranian flag holding a sign with two men on it.
a man draped in an Iranian flag holding a sign with two men on it.

Mojtaba’s Selection Is a Sign of Political Exhaustion This article has an audio recording

Argument
Saeid Golkar
This photograph taken during a tour for foreign media shows an Iranian national flag installed on the Beheshti Mosque that was damaged during recent public protests in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 21.
This photograph taken during a tour for foreign media shows an Iranian national flag installed on the Beheshti Mosque that was damaged during recent public protests in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 21.

Why Iran’s Regime Didn’t Collapse

Analysis
Saeid Golkar
A man walks past a burned and damaged doorway of a mosque. A blue arched window with script in Farsi is seen at right.
A man walks past a burned and damaged doorway of a mosque. A blue arched window with script in Farsi is seen at right.

What’s New About This Wave of Protests in Iran

Analysis
Saeid Golkar, Jason M. Brodsky
A man in a red hat drives a motorbike with a woman passenger in a black bandana by a billboard in Iranian national colors on a busy street.
A man in a red hat drives a motorbike with a woman passenger in a black bandana by a billboard in Iranian national colors on a busy street.

Tehran’s Dual Strategy for Surviving Snapback

Analysis
Saeid Golkar
Iranians prepare for the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, in Tajrish Square, Tehran, on March 19.
Iranians prepare for the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, in Tajrish Square, Tehran, on March 19.

Why Don’t the Iranian People Rise Up?

Analysis
Kasra Aarabi, Saeid Golkar
Thousands of Iranians attend a rally that marks the 46th anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 10.
Thousands of Iranians attend a rally that marks the 46th anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 10.

Is Iran’s Regime About to Go the Way of Syria’s?

Analysis
Saeid Golkar, Kasra Aarabi
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (left) and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud exchange documents after signing a memorandum of understanding in Beijing on April 6.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (left) and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud exchange documents after signing a memorandum of understanding in Beijing on April 6.

The Real Motivation Behind Iran’s Deal With Saudi Arabia

Analysis
Saeid Golkar, Kasra Aarabi
Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, delivers a speech during a rally.
Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, delivers a speech during a rally.

Conscription Is Not an Excuse for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard

Argument
Saeid Golkar, Kasra Aarabi
Hossein Taeb, then-head of the intelligence apparatus of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, looks on during a meeting in Tehran on June 24, 2018.
Hossein Taeb, then-head of the intelligence apparatus of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, looks on during a meeting in Tehran on June 24, 2018.

Why Did Iran’s Ali Khamenei Oust a Loyal Intelligence Head?

Analysis
Saeid Golkar, Kasra Aarabi
Iranian women holding national flags and pictures of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, take part a pro-government demonstration in Tehran on Nov. 25, 2019.
Iranian women holding national flags and pictures of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, take part a pro-government demonstration in Tehran on Nov. 25, 2019.

To Secure His Legacy, Khamenei Is Packing Iran’s Government With Young Radicals

Argument
Saeid Golkar, Asha Sawhney
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