Iran poses a diplomatic challenge for the Obama administration. The threat of an Israeli military strike on the Iran’s nuclear facilities imposes a tight timetable on the President’s attempts to ameliorate this troubled international relationship. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, followed by the 444-day seizure of U.S. hostages in Tehran, Iran has occupied a dark place in the American psyche. Iran’s revived democratic movement, a complicating factor in President Obama’s diplomatic outreach, has only increased the need for an authoritative and accessible overview of this pivotal Middle Eastern power. Roger Cohen, who was in Iran covering the elections, examined the tumultous events of June 12, what they say about the revolutionary establishment, how they have changed Iran, and what all this bodes for US-Iranian relations and the nuclear issue.

Roger Cohen served as a foreign correspondent for The New York Times for more than a decade before becoming foreign editor in 2001. Since 2004 he has written international affairs columns and editorials for The International Herald Tribune, and he was most recently named a columnist for the Times in 2009. Prior to working at the Times, Cohen served as a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, opening many of their foreign offices in South America. Cohen has received the Peter R. Weitz Prize from the German Marshall Fund, the Overseas Press Club of America Citation, and the Arthur F. Burns Prize from the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. Cohen received his M.A. from Oxford University.

Recorded Thursday, October 08, 2009 at Hilton Chicago.