The Iranian regime is under immense pressure. The West appears more determined than ever to pose crippling sanctions on Iran that target the two bases of Iran’s economy—the oil sector and the banking sector. In the background are Israel’s statements regarding a military strike and U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s assessment that an Israeli attack is a likely option.

To make things worse, Iran has been grappling with the blows of a shadow war in which an invisible hand has been killing Iranian nuclear scientists, one after another. Out of a growing feeling of vulnerability, Iran responded with bolder, antagonistic statements. The rhetorical war that Iran, Israel, and the United States are having could easily escalate into an actual confrontation.

Tel Aviv University professor Uzi Rabi will discuss Iran’s efforts toward regional hegemony and provide insight into the various scenarios the Israeli government is considering in response.

Uzi Rabi is the director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and chair of the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University. He is a senior researcher in the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University and is regularly invited by the Israeli Knesset to deliver updates and briefs on current developments in the Middle East. He is the editor of International Intervention in Local Conflicts. His current book projects include Yemen: The Anatomy of a Failed State and Iran, Israel, and the Arabs: The Changing Face of the 21st Century Middle East.

This event is cosponsored by the Center for International Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and the International House Global Voices Program.