Nicole Grajewski is an assistant professor at Sciences Po, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and an associate with the Belfer Center.
Matt Tavares is a former analyst for the Pentagon, focusing on Russian military strategy and U.S. foreign policy.
Brief Analysis
Join us for an expert exploration of the global strategic implications of the ongoing Iran crisis with a focus on Russian and Chinese backing for Tehran. Watch live starting at 3:00 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Iran has not stood alone in the current war. From transferring drone and missile technology to providing diplomatic cover and support in evading sanctions, China and Russia’s quiet but consequential assistance has complicated allied operations and helped the Iranian regime stay in power. With the ceasefire set to expire, these players could be the deciding factor in whether Tehran opts for a diplomatic agreement with the United States or turns back to military hostilities.
To unpack all the ways in which these great powers are powering Iran’s defense, and to assess how Washington and its partners should respond, The Washington Institute is pleased to announce a virtual Policy Forum with Hasan Alhasan, Nicole Grajewski, and Matthew Tavares. The event will be moderated by Grant Rumley, the Institute’s Meisel Family Senior Fellow and director of its Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Program on Great Power Competition and the Middle East.
Hasan Alhasan is a senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, where his latest publication—Gulf Bailout Diplomacy: Aid as Economic Statecraft in a Turbulent Region—focuses on the politics of Gulf rescue lending. Previously, he served on the staff of HRH the Crown Prince of Bahrain as a senior analyst on foreign policy and national security.
Nicole Grajewski is an assistant professor at the Centre de Recherches Internationales (CERI), Sciences Po, a nonresident scholar with the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and an associate with the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Her recent work includes the soon-to-be-published book Russia and Iran: Partners in Defiance from Syria to Ukraine (Oxford/Hurst, 2026).
Matt Tavares is a former official at the Pentagon with nearly two decades of experience in Russian strategy, asymmetric threats, and intelligence operations, including multiple deployments to the Middle East. The coauthor (with Anna Borshchevskaya) of the recent Washington Institute report After Ukraine: Prospects for a Russian Resurgence in the Middle East, he is currently focusing on counter-drone technologies and scalable air defense.
The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Winkler Lowy Foundation.
