Iran: Where Does This Go From Here

Reverend Johnnie Moore, PhD, is Vice Chancellor and Managing Director of Middle East Studies at Pepperdine University in Washington, D.C. A leading voice at the intersection of faith and foreign policy, his work focuses on the Middle East, religious freedom, and the role of faith in global affairs.

Dr. Moore has served twice on the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom and has played a meaningful role in major diplomatic efforts, including the Abraham Accords. He has led high-level humanitarian initiatives, including efforts delivering nearly 200 million meals to Gaza, and has engaged extensively with heads of state and regional leaders across more than 100 countries.

A globally recognized advocate for religious freedom and human rights, his work has contributed to international declarations, interfaith cooperation initiatives, and the release of persecuted individuals. He is a frequent speaker at leading institutions worldwide and a prolific author and commentator on religion, policy, and global affairs.

Charlie Cohen is in his first year in the Pepperdine/Washington Institute Master of Middle East Policy Studies program. Cohen is from Omaha, Nebraska, where he lived before getting his bachelor's degree from the Raphael Recanati International School at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel. From July 2024 to August 2025 Charlie worked at the Brody Jewish Center Hillel at the University of Virginia. He is set to intern this summer at United Against a Nuclear Iran. 

Dr. Patrick Clawson is the Morningstar Senior Fellow and Research Counselor at The Washington Institute, where he directs the Viterbi Program on Iran and U.S. Policy. Widely consulted as an analyst and media commentator, he has authored more than 150 articles about the Middle East and international economics and is the author and editor of eighteen books and studies on Iran. After joining the Institute in 1997, Dr. Clawson served as Director of Research until February 2024. Dr. Clawson has also testified before congressional committees more than twenty times and has served as an expert witness in more than thirty federal cases against Iran.  

Dr. Farzin Nadimi, a Senior Fellow with The Washington Institute, is a Washington-based analyst specializing in the security and defense affairs of Iran and the Persian Gulf region. He has written previously for the Institute regarding Tehran's asymmetric naval warfare strategy. 

Dr. Erdemir is Senior Director of Global Research and Diplomatic Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League and a former member of the Turkish Parliament (2011–2015), where he served on the EU–Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee and EU Harmonization Committee. He is a founding member of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief and a signatory to the Oslo Charter and the London Declaration on Combating Antisemitism. He previously served as Senior Director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and has received the Stefanus Prize for Religious Freedom and the First Freedom Award. He was also named by Washingtonian magazine as one of the “500 Most Influential People Shaping Policy” in Washington, DC.

Gefen Kabik is a senior policy analyst at the American Action Network/Congressional Leadership Fund, and has completed his first year of graduate school at Pepperdine University's Master of Middle East Policy Studies program. Kabik previously worked on legislative affairs at AIPAC, including on numerous pieces of Iran legislation. He also served in the previous administration as a congressional liaison at the United States Agency for International Development, where his work focused on Southern Africa and Europe and Eurasia. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland where he studied history and government and politics. 

Joel Rayburn is a senior fellow in Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East.

A historian of the Middle East and a former diplomat and military officer, Mr. Rayburn served as special advisor for Middle East affairs in the office of Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) from January to July 2021.

From July 2018 to January 2021, Mr. Rayburn was the United States special envoy for Syria. In that post, he oversaw US diplomatic activities concerning Syria, supervised more than 100 diplomats and civil servants across the Middle East and Europe, and, from November 2020 to January 2021, served as US chief of mission for Syria. Until November 2020, he was also deputy assistant secretary for Levant affairs, responsible for implementing US policy concerning Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Mr. Goldberg is a Senior Advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a former U.S. national security official with extensive experience in Iran policy, sanctions, and countering weapons of mass destruction. He previously served on the White House National Security Council as Director for Countering Iranian WMD and played a key role in shaping the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Goldberg was a leading architect of U.S. sanctions on Iran in the Senate, helping advance measures targeting the Central Bank of Iran, the SWIFT financial system, and key sectors of the Iranian economy. He also contributed to U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation, supporting programs such as Iron Dome and Arrow-3.

Mr. Goldberg has held senior roles across government, including positions at the Department of the Interior, the White House National Energy Dominance Council, and as Chief of Staff to the governor of Illinois. He also served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, with assignments at the Pentagon, U.S. European Command, and in Afghanistan.

The Honorable Bijan Kian is an accomplished global business leader and public servant with over 30 years of experience across governance, economic development, and international affairs. Twice confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Mr. Kian has served in senior roles across three U.S. presidential administrations and held key positions at both the federal and state levels, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Chairman of the Board of private corporations, and as a Board Member and Chairman of the Audit Committee for a U.S. Government agency. Mr. Kian has served as a Senior Fellow in Global Public Policy at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and as a lecturer at leading institutions, including Georgetown University and the National War College. Mr. Kian is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (2009) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in the United Kingdom. He currently serves as the President of the Institute for Voices of Liberty, and frequently appears on major broadcasting channels, including BBC, Epoch Times, and Iran International, as a renowned expert on Iran.