Instability and the Transformation of the Middle East: Threats and Challenges in 2013

The decision by Iranian supreme leader Khamenei to permit Hassan Rouhani to win presidential elections in June creates an opportunity for U.S. efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to Tehran's nuclear-weapons program, Institute counselor Dennis Ross said in an address to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Stahl Center. "The election in Iran created a new circumstance. It should be tested with an end-game proposal," Ross advised during remarks that touched on all of the region's hot spots, including ongoing crises in Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks and political upheaval from Turkey to the Gulf.

Ambassador Dennis B. Ross was a special assistant to President Obama and senior director of the Central Region on the National Security Council staff from 2009 to 2011. He is now the counselor at the Washington Institute.