Seyed Hossein Mousavian is a Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at the Program on Science and Global Security. He is a former diplomat who served as Iran’s Ambassador to Germany (1990-1997), Head of the Foreign Relations Committee of Iran’s National Security Council (1997-2005), Spokesman for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the international community (2003-2005), Foreign Policy Advisor to the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (2005-2007), Vice President of the Center for Strategic Research for International Affairs (2005-2009), General Director of Foreign Ministry for West Europe (1987-1990), Chief of Parliament Administration (1984-1986), and the editor-in-chief of the English-language international newspaper Tehran Times (1980-1990). Mousavian earned a PhD in international relations from the University of Kent, United Kingdom.
Research Interests
Seyed Hossein Mousavian studies and makes proposals for policy initiatives and diplomatic solutions to the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program, to advance the goal of a Middle East Weapon of Mass Destruction Free Zone, improve US-Iran bilateral relations and foster peaceful resolution of security crises in the Middle East so as to advance nonproliferation, peace and stability in the region. To better understand and inform scholarship and policy debates on these goals, he participates intensively in public and private discussions with high-level policy makers, Track 1.5 processes, and public diplomacy focused on the United States, Europe, leading countries in the international system, Iran and other states in the Middle East.
Publications
BOOKS
S. H. Mousavian, Religion and Nuclear Weapons: A Study of Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan, Vij Books India. Fall 2022.
S. H. Mousavian, “A Middle East Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction”, Routledge, May 2020.
S. H. Mousavian, A New Structure for Security, Peace, and Cooperation in the Persian Gulf, Rowman & Littlefield, December 2020.
S. H. Mousavian, Iran and the United States, An Insider’s View on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace, Bloomsbury, 2014.
S. H. Mousavian, Iranian Nuclear Crisis, A Memoir, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC, 2012.
S. H. Mousavian, Iran-Europe Relations: Challenges and Opportunities, Routledge Press, 2008.
SELECTED ARTICLES
S. H. Mousavian, Ebrahim Raisi: The president's death leaves Iran at a crossroads, Middle East Eye, May 21, 2024.
S. H. Mousavian, The Israel-Iran Military Conflict: Consequences and Solutions, Middle East Policy Council, On April 13, 2024.
S. H. Mousavian, The Failure of JCPOA and Its Consequences on Iran's Membership on the WMD Conventions. 2023. Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
S. H. Mousavian, The Rise and Fall of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 2023. Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs.
S. H. Mousavian, Biden's 'no Iran deal, no crisis' policy is unsustainable. Responsible Statecraft. May 12, 2023.
S. H. Mousavian, Are Iran and Russia Headed for Strategic Partnership? The National Interest. February 4, 2022.
Vali Nasr, S. H. Mousavian, Biden Must Separate the Iran Deal From Regional Security Negotiations. Foreign Policy. September 22, 2021.
Abdulaziz Sager, S. H. Mousavian, “We can escape a zero-sum struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia – if we act now,” The Guardian, January 31, 2021.
S. H. Mousavian, Nine hurdles to reviving the Iran nuclear deal; Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists, January 19, 2021.
S. H. Mousavian, How Iran Sees Its Standoff With the United States, Foreign Affairs, July 12, 2019.
S. H. Mousavian, “A Win-Win for Iran and the Region,” Cairo Review, May 6, 2019.
S. H. Mousavian, The Strategic Disaster of Leaving the Iran Deal, Foreign Affairs, May 10, 2018.
S. H. Mousavian, M. M. Mousavian, Building on the Iran Nuclear Deal for International Peace and Security, Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, January 2, 2018.
S. H. Mousavian, Reza Nasri, Obama Needs To Protect The Iran Nuclear Deal, New York Times, June 20, 2016.
S. H. Mousavian, America needs Iranian cooperation: Column, USA Today, January 14, 2016.
S. H. Mousavian, A rejection of the nuclear deal could lead to radicalism in Iran, Washington Post, August 28, 2015.
For additional articles, interviews, lectures, and commentary, see www.hosseinmousavian.com.