Skip to main content
TWI logo The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
logo
wordmark
Homepage

Main navigation

  • Analysis
  • Experts
  • About
  • Support
  • Maps & Multimedia
Trending:
  • Military and Security
  • Terrorism
  • U.S. Policy
  • North Africa
  • Gulf States
  • Iran

Regions & Countries

  • Egypt
  • Iraq
  • Iran
  • Gulf States
  • Israel
  • Palestinians
  • Lebanon
  • North Africa
  • Turkey
  • Jordan
  • Syria
  • Middle East

Issues

  • Arab and Islamic Politics
  • Democracy and Reform
  • Military and Security
  • U.S. Policy
  • Gulf and Energy Policy
  • Energy and Economics
  • Proliferation
  • Terrorism
  • Arab-Israeli Relations
  • Peace Process
TWI English
TWI Arabic: اللغة العربية TWI Persian: فارسی Fikra Forum

Breadcrumb

  • Experts

Mehdi Khalaji

  • Libitzky Family Fellow
Also available in:
  • Arabic
  • Farsi

Expertise

  • Arab and Islamic Politics
  • Iran
Mehdi Khalaji
Download High-Resolution Portrait

Mehdi Khalaji, a native of Iran, spent fourteen years in Qom’s seminaries studying Islamic ‎principles and jurisprudence under the direction of Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri and later ‎Ayatollah Hussein Vahid Khorassani. While in Iran, he wrote and translated pieces for Kian and ‎Naqd va Nazar magazine as well as the newspapers Jameh and Entekhab, where he also served as ‎an editor. In addition, he taught philosophy at the University of Qom. ‎

He left Iran in 2000 and moved to Paris, where he studied Shiite theology and exegesis at the ‎Sorbonne’s Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and then worked for two years as a political analyst ‎for BBC Persian. He moved to Prague in 2002 to serve as a producer for Radio Free Europe/Radio ‎Liberty’s Persian-language programming and later for Radio Farda. ‎

Since 2005, Khalaji has been a senior fellow at the Washington Institute. His articles and analysis ‎appear in outlets such as New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, as well as various ‎scholarly journals and the encyclopedia Iranica. He also hosts a bilingual English and Persian ‎website, MehdiKhalaji.com. ‎

In addition to his Institute publications, Dr. Khalaji has written or translated the following ‎titles:‎

  • The Arab’s Conscience by Borhan Ghalion, translation from Arabic-Persian,‎ (Qom: Naqd-o-Nazar, 1998)‎
  • Disincarnated (novel), (Berlin: Gardoon, 2004)‎
  • The New Order of Clergy, (Bochum: Ida, 2013)‎
  • Innovation, Interdiction and Interpretation, Nasr Hamed Abu Zaid, translation from Arabic-‎Persian, (Washington DC: Tavaana, 2014)‎
  • From Ijtihad to Critique of Islamic Reason, Mohammed Arkoun, translation from French-‎Persian, (Washington DC: Tavaana, 2015)‎
  • Men in Dark Time, Hannah Arendt, translation from English-Persian, (Washington DC: ‎Tavaana, 2016)
  • Clergy, Sharia and State, (Toronto: Pegah, 2018)‎
  • Evil in Modern Thought: An Alternative History of Philosophy, Susan Neiman, translation ‎from English-Persian, (Washington DC: Idea Center for Arts and Culture, 2019)‎ .
Mehdi Khalaji
Download High-Resolution Portrait

Contact

(202) 230-9550 (media inquiries only)
(202) 452-0650 (other inquiries)
press@washingtoninstitute.org

Follow

  • http://MehdiKhalaji.com MehdiKhalaji
  • https://twitter.com/ Mehdi_Khalaji twitter

Featured Publications

Reading Trump in Tehran
A week after Donald Trump was elected president in November 2016, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei played coy, remarking, “I
Feb 23, 2020
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Shia Leadership After Sistani Sudden Succession Essay Series
The current holder of the highest clerical rank in Shia Islam is eighty-nine-year-old Ali al-Sistani, who is based in Najaf, Iraq. Sistani has played an important role in Iraq’s post-Saddam era, supporting political reconciliation and a constitution-based society. While the transnational reach of marjaiya will likely diminish after Sistani leaves the scene, the specific contours of this shift and Tehran's efforts to intervene remain an open question.
Sep 10, 2019
◆
  • Ali Mamouri
  • Mehdi Khalaji
The Shiite Clergy Post-Khamenei: Balancing Authority and Autonomy
This Research Note takes a hard look at the Iranian regime's expanding totalitarian tendencies and the implications for the dwindling autonomy of Iran's clerics.
Oct 11, 2016
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Tightening the Reins How Khamenei Makes Decisions
This new study by Mehdi Khalaji focuses on explaining the decisionmaking process within Iran's highest political echelon.
Apr 9, 2014
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Supreme Succession: Who Will Lead Post-Khamenei Iran?
Although Ayatollah Khamenei has given no signs of imminent departure from the political scene, both the confrontational nature of his
Feb 8, 2012
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Test - The supreme Leader
Nuclear Fatwa: Religion and Politics in Iran's Proliferation Strategy
As the various threats posed by Iran's nuclear efforts become increasingly clear to the international community, most published assessments of
Sep 15, 2011
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Apocalyptic Politics: On the Rationality of Iranian Policy
The Iranian regime has given the West ample cause for worry about its intentions and general mindset in recent years
Jan 1, 2008
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji

Policy Articles by Mehdi Khalaji

Pope Francis departs an airplane
Brief Analysis
The Pope Meets the Ayatollah
Mar 3, 2021
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Brief Analysis
Khamenei Sets Conditions for Iran to Resume Its Nuclear Commitments
Feb 8, 2021
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Brief Analysis
Iran’s Flexible Fatwa: How “Expediency” Shapes Nuclear Decisionmaking
Feb 4, 2021
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Brief Analysis
Iran’s New Nuclear Law: Negotiating Tactic, Domestic Political Tool, or Both?
Dec 3, 2020
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
In-Depth Reports
Iran's 2021 Presidential Vote and the Tightening of Regime Control
Nov 23, 2020
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Brief Analysis
What Does Iran’s Supreme Leader Expect from the Next U.S. President?
Oct 23, 2020
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
All Policy Analysis
Background image with TWI branding
logo
wordmark
Homepage

1111 19th Street NW - Suite 500
Washington D.C. 20036
Tel: 202-452-0650
Fax: 202-223-5364

Footer contact links

  • Contact
  • Press Room

The Washington Institute seeks to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them.

The Institute is a 501(c)3 organization; all donations are tax-deductible.

Footer quick links

  • About TWI
  • Support the Institute

Social media

  • The Washington Institute on Facebook facebook
  • The Washington Institute on Twitter twitter
  • The Washington Institute on YouTube youtube
  • The Washington Institute on Soundcloud soundcloud

© 2021 All rights reserved.

Footer

  • Employment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Rights & Permissions