Is the hostility of recent decades between Iran and Israel inherent in the ideology of the Islamic Republic, or are there pragmatic dimensions of national interest that are in play? Despite a rhetorical shift after the fall of the Pahlevi dictatorship, at a Century Foundation roundtable discussion (Iran and Israel–An Irreversible Enmity?) experts, including Trita Parsi, insisted that Israeli-Iranian relations only turned bitterly hostile in response to external geopolitical shifts in the region. Since redefining the relationship between the two nations will be critical to the strategic dynamics at play in the Middle East, how can the enmity and threats be turned around?

Leading the discussion are:

• Trita Parsi, President of the NationalIranian American Council and author of Treacherous Alliance - The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States (Yale University Press 2007);
• Khaled Dawoud, New York correspondent for Al-Jazeera; and
• Daniel Levy, Senior Fellow and Director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation.


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