In The News: January 22, 2026
‘In the News’ is a roundup of recent media coverage featuring the Johns Hopkins SAIS community and is produced and distributed by the Office of Marketing and Communications.
FACULTY U.S. & INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE
Europe Has a Bazooka. Time to Use It. SNF Agora Professor of International Affairs Henry Farrell wrote in The New York Times, 1/21
How Trump Uses the Oval Office to Flex Power on the World Stage. Assistant Professor Lisel Hintz quoted in The New York Times, 1/20
The Future of Iran's Regime. Associate Professor and Co-Director of Rethinking Iran Narges Bajoghli interviewed by CNN, 1/19
Trump’s Board of Peace, Russia and European Security. Adjunct Lecturer and FPI Senior Fellow Jeffrey Pryce interviewed by LBC, 1/19
What Options Does Iran Have as Pressure Builds at Home and Abroad? James Anderson Adjunct Professor at SAIS Europe Sanam Vakil interviewed by The National Podcast, 1/16
Iran’s Protests Come After Waves of Unrest, Spanning Years. Narges Bajoghli quoted in The Washington Post, 1/15
How the Trump Administration's Threats to Iran Are Stoking Tensions In the Region. Majid Khadduri Professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs Vali Nasr interviewed by NPR, 1/15
Iran’s Exiled Crown Prince Believes Trump to Be ‘A Man of His Word’. Vali Nasr quoted in Time Magazine, 1/15
You Might Not Like What Comes Next in Iran. Vali Nasr and Sanam Vakil quoted in Politico, 1/15
Trump Questions Support for Son of Iran's Last Shah Inside Country. Sanam Vakil quoted in Reuters, 1/15
Iran Protests Show Bitter Schism Among Exiled Opposition Factions. Sanam Vakil quoted in Internazionale, 1/15
Iran's Protests: Can the Regime Survive? Sanam Vakil interviewed by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 1/15
The Quiet of the Kremlin: Upheaval in Iran, Venezuela Gets A Muted Moscow Response. Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor at SAIS Europe Sergey Radchenko quoted in Radio Free Europe, 1/14
The Regime in Iran is Acting in the Bloodiest Way: the US Must Be Ready to Send Troops. Sanam Vakil quoted in AKMU, 1/14
Iran ‘Shooting to Kill’: Doctors Fight Back as Trump Weighs Intervention. Sanam Vakil interviewed by Battle Lines Podcast by Telegraph, 1/14
With Crackdown on Protests, Iran's Government 'Is Only Buying Time'. Vali Nasr and Sanam Vakil quoted in The New York Times, 1/14
The Scariest Thing About Iran's Crackdown. Vali Nasr quoted in Vox, 1/13
“State of Siege”: Iran Protest Death Toll Rises to 2,000 After U.S. Sanctions Spawn Economic Crisis. Vali Nasr interviewed by Democracy Now, 1/13
Deposed Shah's Son Seeks Center Stage Amid Iran Protests. Sanam Vakil quoted in The New York Times, 1/13
With Thousands Dead, the Iranian Regime May Survive These Protests – But Not In Its Current Form. Sanam Vakil wrote in The Guardian, 1/13
Inside An Exiled Prince’s Plan for Regime Change in Iran. Sanam Vakil quoted in Politico, 1/13
Crisis as Opportunity: Chinese and American Approaches to Crisis Communication. Senior Lecturer and FPI Director Carla Freeman wrote in the War On The Rocks, 1/13
Iran Toppled the Shah in 1979. Why This Time Isn’t Quite Like That. Narges Bajoghli wrote in Time Magazine, 1/13
How the U.S. and Israel Are Trying to Co-opt Iran's Protests. Narges Bajoghli interviewed by Drop Site News, 1/13
The Backlash Against Donald Trump’s Criminal Probe Into Jay Powell. Professor of Practice Mara Karlin quoted in The Financial Times, 1/13
Trump’s Other Latin American Feud: Why Colombia’s Petro is Not Maduro. Adjunct Lecturer Cynthia Arnson quoted in The Guardian, 1/12
Iran Escalates Deadly Crackdown on Mass Protests as Trump Threatens to Launch Military Attack. Narges Bajoghli interviewed by Democracy Now, 1/12
Iran Is Vulnerable. Is It Time for the US to Intervene? Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor Hal Brands wrote in Bloomberg, 1/12
Trump Holds Off on Military Action Against Iran’s Protest Crackdown as he ‘Explores’ Tehran Messages. Vali Nasr quoted in AP News, 1/12
Iran’s Rulers Face Biggest Challenge Since 1979 Revolution. Sanam Vakil quoted in Gulf Times, 1/12
Iran Protests Put Trump at Crossroads Between Military Action or Making Deal. Sanam Vakil quoted in The National, 1/12
Iran Moderates Back Crackdown on Protests as Regime Closes Ranks. Sanam Vakil quoted in The Wall Street Journal, 1/12
How Iran’s Economic Pain Sparked Explosion of Unrest. Sanam Vakil quoted in Financial Times, 1/12
What a U.S. Intervention in Iran Could Look Like as Trump Weighs Options. Sanam Vakil quoted in Europe Says, 1/12
Iran Prepared for War but Ready to Negotiate, Foreign Minister Says. Vali Nasr quoted in The New York Times, 1/12
Iran's Rulers Face Biggest Challenge Since 1979 Revolution. Vali Nasr quoted in BBC News, 1/12
The Foreign Intervention Iranians Want Is the Lifting of Sanctions. Vali Nasr quoted in The Middle East Eye, 1/12
Trump Has Options on Iran, But First Must Define Goal. Vali Nasr and Sanam Vakil quoted in France 24, 1/12
Unpredictable Trump Weighs Up Iranian Pleas for Help Against Calls for Restraint. Sanam Vakil quoted in The Guardian, 1/11
Iran’s Protests Seem Different This Time. Is The Regime on The Brink? Vali Nasr quoted in The Washington Post, 1/11
Mass Protests in Iran and Trump's Threats. Vali Nasr quoted in The New York Times, 1/11
Iran: Pahlavi Calls for More Protests. Sanam Vakil interviewed by BBC podcast, 1/10
The Son of Iran’s Last Shah Is Rallying Protesters. But Do Iranians Really Want Another King? Vali Nasr quoted in CNN, 1/9
Iranian Government Threatens Further Crackdown as Protests Grow. Vali Nasr quoted in PBS News, 1/9
The Exiled Royal Urging Iranians on To the Streets. Vali Nasr quoted in The Financial Times, 1/9
Can Tension in Aleppo Be Contained This Time? Adjunct Professor at SAIS Europe Rob Geist Pinfold interviewed by Al Jazeera, 1/9
Venezuela’s Economy Plunged Into Uncertainty After Maduro Abduction. Cynthia Arnson quoted in Al Jazeera, 1/8
ベネズエラ、カベジョ内務・法務相らが実権掌握か 米専門家分析. (Japanese) Cynthia Arnson quoted in Nikkei, 1/8
The Take: Could Iran Be the Next Venezuela? Narges Bajoghli interviewed by Al Jazeera Podcast, 1/8
As Venezuela Buckles Under Trump, Iran Sees an Uncomfortable Parallel. Sanam Vakil quoted in CNN, 1/7
STUDENT, FELLOW & ALUMNI COVERAGE
Ongoing Communications Blackout in Iran. Senior Fellow of the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies Laura Blumenfeld interviewed by BBC News, 1/15
How China Quietly became the World’s Climate Policy Leader. FPI Senior Fellow James Borton quoted in South China Morning Post, 1/15
China Wields a Steadier Blade Over Tech Giants. SAIS MAIR alumna '11 Robyn Mak wrote in Reuters, 1/15
Potencias globales miden fuerzas en una crisis iraní, donde los muertos no dejan de aumentar. (Spanish) Laura Blumenfeld quoted in El Mercurio, 1/14
Why The Saudis Will Be Keenly Watching Venezuela. SAIS MAIR student '28 Afnan Wasif wrote in The Financial Times, 1/13
Philippine Leadership Puts ASEAN at Center of South China Sea Rivalry. James Borton wrote in UPI, 1/8
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