George Perkovich is vice president for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. He is an expert in US foreign policy, non-proliferation, security, global governance, non-governmental actors, India, Iran and Pakistan.

Karim Sadjadpour is the International Crisis Group’s Iran analyst, formerly based in Tehran. He has written widely on Iranian society and politics, its nuclear program, Iran-Iraq relations, and U.S.-Iran relations. He is a regular contributor to BBC World and NPR ©, and has also written for the Washington Post, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, New Republic and others.

Sanam Vakil is an assistant professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. She is a former research associate for the Council on Foreign Relations’ Iran Project and served as a consultant to the World Bank Group’s Middle East North African Division.

Patrick Clawson is deputy director for Research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Washington, DC. His previous positions include five years as senior research professor at the National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies and four years each as senior economist at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the World Bank, and the IMF. He is author of numerous books on the Middle East and Iran.

Reuel Marc Gerecht is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. An expert in Middle East affairs, since 9/11 he has focused on Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as well as on terrorism and intelligence. He is the author of numerous books on Iran and was with the CIA from 1985 to 1994.

William Kristol is editor of the influential Washington-based political magazine, the Weekly Standard. He is considered one of the nation’s leading political analysts and commentators. He recently co-authored the New York Times bestseller The War Over Iraq: America’s Mission and Saddam’s Tyranny.