CONFERENCE AGENDA

8:00 A.M. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 A.M. Introduction and Welcoming Remarks
LARRY DIAMOND, Hoover Institution
8:45 A.M. Panel I: The Current Political Landscape in Iran
ALI M. ANSARI, University of Durham
“Regime Change From Within?”
 
DISCUSSANTS: HALEH ESFANDIARI, Woodrow Wilson International Center
NAYEREH TOHIDI, California State University, Northridge
CHAIR: ABBAS MILANI, Hoover Institution
10:15 A.M. Break
10:45 A.M. Panel II: Religion and Politics
ABDULKARIM SOROUSH, Princeton University
“Islam and Democracy”
 
DISCUSSANTS: DONALD EMMERSON, Stanford University
FOROUGH JAHANBAKSH, Queen’s University
ABBAS MILANI, Hoover Institution
CHAIR: LARRY DIAMOND, Hoover Institution
12:00 NOON Lunch in the Staff Lounge and Hatfield Court
1:00 P.M. Dessert Reception in the Herbert Hoover Exhibit Pavilion
“Creating an Islamic Republic: Iranian Collections from the Hoover Library and Archives”
1:30 P.M. Panel III: The Judicial System and the Rule of Law in Iran
ABDULKARIM LAHIJI, human rights lawyer, Paris
“Democracy, Human Rights, and the Iranian Legal System”
 
DISCUSSANTS: ERIK JENSEN, Stanford University
MEHRANGIZ KAR, University of Virginia
CHAIR: MICHAEL MCFAUL, Hoover Institution
2:30 P.M. Panel IV: The Nuclear Question
MOHSEN MASSERAT, University of Osnabruek
“Iran’s Energy Policy and the Economics of Nuclear Energy”
 
DISCUSSANT: NAJMEDDIN MESHKATI, University of Southern California
CHAIR: MICHAEL MCFAUL, Hoover Institution
3:30 P.M. Break
4:00 P.M. Roundtable Discussion: U.S.-Iran Relations
HORMOZ HEKMAT, Editor of Irannameh
MICHAEL MCFAUL, Hoover Institution
ABBAS MILANI, Hoover Institution
     CHAIR: LARRY DIAMOND, Hoover Institution
5:15 P.M. Conference Concludes
 

Upcoming Events

Thursday, June 11, 2026
Regulating Transportation Networks: Opportunities And Challenges For Federal Regulatory Policy
Join the Hoover Institution for a virtual discussion on the impact of federal regulation on transportation networks. The panel discussion will… Virtual Panel Discussion
Thursday, June 11, 2026
America, War And The World: Applying History To Contemporary Strategic Challenges
Join Hoover Fellow Sir Niall Ferguson in conversation with Griffin Fellows, Tyler Goodspeed, Nick Lambert, Luke Nichter, Manny Rincon-Cruz, and Ziyi…
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Choosing Freedom: Lives That Defied Tyranny
Choosing Freedom: Lives That Defied Tyranny
Uncover personal stories of courage in the pursuit of freedom in a new exhibition from the Hoover Institution Library & Archives Lou Henry Hoover Gallery, Hoover Tower
overlay image