Vali Nasr, professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies and former dean at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced and International Studies, will examine Iran's direction three years after popular protests rocked the country and the more recent collapse of Iran's position in Lebanon and Syria. There is palpable sense that the Islamic Republic is weak both at home and in the region, although the picture of decline is far from straight forward in a country on the cusp of acquiring nuclear weapons and capable of suppressing popular dissent. Iran remains important to the future direction of the Middle East, to a settlement to the Gaza war, and to peace and stability in the Persian Gulf region. How Iran responds to these challenges will, in turn, determine US-Iran relations and more broadly US engagement with the Middle East during the Trump presidency.