Iran’s Foreign Policy: Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis

With considerable influence in the Middle East, Iran’s foreign policy remains at the forefront of worldwide attention.

This two-part seminar focuses on the history of the Iranian Empire and the reasons behind the nation’s current struggles. The first class explores Iranian Empires from Zoroastrian Ancient Persia and support of Israel to Modern Shi’ia Islamic Iran, especially including the U.S. overthrow of Mosadegh, the installation of the Shah and his overthrow with the following hostage crisis and the rise of the Islamic Republic. The second class begins with Iranian power reborn and strategic support for Hezbollah, Sunni Hamas and Houthis, as well as for Syria, Iraq and even the Russian war in Ukraine. It concludes with the struggles between Shi’ite Iran and Sunni Afghanistan and ISIS-Khorasan in the age of AI and drone warfare.

Richard Lobban, Ph.D., professor emeritus of anthropology and African studies at Rhode Island College, serves as adjunct professor of African studies at the Naval War College. He has a master’s degree from Temple University and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and has taught at the American University in Cairo, Tufts University and Dartmouth College, among others. He has conducted field research in Tunis and Egypt and has been excavating a temple in Sudan for 10 years. Richard is widely published in urban and complex societies, informal sector economy, gender, ethnicity, race and class, especially in the Middle East. He often serves as a subject matter expert and court-appointed expert witness in political asylum cases for refugees from Africa and the Middle East.