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Holly Dagres

  • Libitzky Family Senior Fellow
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  • العربية

Expertise

  • Iran
Holly Dagres
Download High-Resolution Portrait

Holly Dagres is the Libitzky Family Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Viterbi Program on Iran and U.S. Policy. Previously a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Middle East Programs, Dagres edited the IranSource and MENASource publications and led a working group on human rights, society, and the environment for the bipartisan report The Future of U.S. Strategy Toward Iran: A Roadmap for the Next Administration.

Dagres also curates The Iranist, a widely read weekly newsletter on Iran, and contributes to Operation Environment Watch. Her groundbreaking report, Iranians on #SocialMedia, and her TEDxTalk on the topic have established her as a leading voice on Iranian social movements and generational change. She has been featured in interviews across radio, television, and print, including the Associated Press, BBC News, CNN, NPR, Fox News, and The New York Times. Her work twice earned recognition on the Middle East Policy Council's "40 under 40" list.

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An Iranian-American who spent her teenage years in Iran and graduated from Tehran International School, Dagres returned to the United States to attend UCLA and later earned a master's degree from the American University in Cairo.

Education

M.A. in political science, The American University in Cairo; B.A. in political science and French, UCLA. 

Holly Dagres
Download High-Resolution Portrait

Recent Policy Analysis by Holly Dagres

A flight deck crewman directs operations of an F-35 jet on board the USS Abraham Lincoln - source: Department of Defense
Brief Analysis
The U.S. and Israel Strike Iran
Mar 2, 2026
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  • Holly Dagres
  • Dennis Ross
  • Dana Stroul
  • Robert Satloff
Brief Analysis
Epic Fury and Roaring Lion: From War Scenarios to Pressing Postwar Questions in Iran
Mar 1, 2026
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  • Assaf Orion
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Holly Dagres
  • Patrick Clawson
  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • April Longley Alley
  • Richard Nephew
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, gestures while speaking
Articles & Testimony
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: An Obituary
Feb 28, 2026
◆
  • Holly Dagres
A photo illustration of a bust of President Trump and an Iranian flag - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Iran Endgame? Protests, Repression, and the Trump Administration
Jan 16, 2026
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  • Holly Dagres
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Richard Nephew
Video posted on social media shows violent protests on the streets of Tehran - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Iran Is Teetering. The West Isn’t Prepared.
Jan 10, 2026
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  • Holly Dagres
An Iranian girl watches water being poured - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Khomeini Promised Free Water. Iran Is Running Out of It.
Nov 28, 2025
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  • Holly Dagres
All Policy Analysis by Holly Dagres
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