Behnam Ben Taleblu Looking at Iran from the Outside In
Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Time: 12 Noon, Eastern Standard Time, 7 p.m. Jerusalem Time
Come watch as The Director of FDD’s Iran program Behnam Ben Taleblu gives us a fresh perspective on the recent developments in Iran since Israel has embarked on “Operation Rising Lion.”
About Our Speaker: Behnam Ben Taleblu is senior director of FDD’s Iran Program, where he oversees the breadth and depth of FDD’s work on Iran in addition to serving as a senior fellow specializing in Iranian security and political issues. For well over a decade, Behnam has supported FDD’s Iran program as a senior fellow, research fellow, and senior Iran analyst. Prior to his time at FDD, Behnam worked on non-proliferation issues at an arms control think tank in Washington.
Leveraging his subject-matter expertise and native Persian-language skills, Behnam closely tracks a wide range of Iran-related functional and regional topics including nuclear non-proliferation, ballistic missiles and drones, sanctions, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies, the foreign and security policy of the Islamic Republic, and internal Iranian politics. Frequently called upon to brief journalists, congressional staff, diplomatic, military, academic, and policy audiences in Washington, across the United States, and around the world, Behnam has testified before various committees in the U.S. Congress, the Canadian Parliament, and the UK House of Commons.
Behnam’s analysis has been quoted in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Fox News, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Politico, and Axios, among others. Additionally, he has contributed to or coauthored articles for The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, Fox News, The Hill, War on the Rocks, Newsweek, and The National Interest. Behnam has appeared on a variety of broadcast programs, including PBS Newshour, BBC News, Fox News, CNN International, CBS News, C-SPAN, France 24, I24 News and Deutsche Welle.
Behnam earned his M.A. with honors in international relations from The University of Chicago, and his B.A. in international affairs and Middle East studies from The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Behnam is also a member of the Anti-Defamation League’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities and a contributing editor to National Security Journal.
