SPEAKERS

Christian Koch, Senior Advisor, Bussola Institute
 
Kawa Hassan, Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa Program, EastWest Institute
 
Joost Hilterman, Program Director, International Crisis Group
 
Adnan Tabatabai, CEO, CARPO - Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient
 
Amanda Paul, Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre (Moderator)

Twenty months after the United States announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and launched its 'maximum pressure' campaign against Iran, tensions between Washington and Tehran reached a new climax following the death of Major General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq on 3 January 2020. Iran retaliated four days later with a strike on two Iraqi military bases that house US forces. Subsequently, Iranian air defences downed a Ukrainian Airlines passenger plane by mistake, which triggered protests in the country.
 
The killing of the Commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force represents a significant turning point in US-Iran relations, which seems set to further destabilise the entire Middle East, not least Iraq, whose Parliament has requested US forces to leave the country. Against this background, this Policy Dialogue will discuss the potential consequences of Soleimani`s death for stability in the Middle East, as well as the future role of the US and Europe in the region. It will assess prospects for further escalation or de-escalation, the position of regional powers in the Middle East, the impact of the Iranian crisis on the transatlantic relationship and which steps the European Union should take at this crucial time.