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Draft:Emad Kiyaei

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Emad Kiyaei is an Iranian-South African author, lecturer, activist, storyteller, educator, and researcher based in France. As an expert in disarmament of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and advocate for creating a zone free of weapons of mass destruction (WMDFZ), Emad has advised national governments and multilateral diplomatic organisations on strategies to promote a regional approach to nonproliferation in the Middle East (including 22 Arab states as well as Iran and Israel) since 2010.[1] He is cofounder and director of the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO) and AiXist.

In addition to publishing widely in academic and mainstream press, Emad has made numerous media and film appearances. In "Bye-Bye New York," his The Moth 2018 GrandSLAM storytelling winner, he tells his story of youthful, optimistic immigration to America and abrupt emigration 16 years later during the Trump Presidency.[2]

Early life and upbringing

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Photo depicting Emad Kiyaei, with a black beard and dark hair, smiling enigmatically in afternoon sunlight in a square in Paris.
Emad Kiyaei, Director of METO

Emad was born in Tehran, Iran, and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and Cape Town, South Africa. He attended Stony Brook University, New York, and completed graduate study at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs in New York City.

Career

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Emad began his career at Columbia University’s Center for International Conflict Resolution (in the Institute of War and Peace Studies) working on diplomatic and civil society approaches to peacebuilding, in particular running programs for humanitarian aid to Gaza.[3] He subsequently joined Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security (SGS) at the School of Public and International Affairs as a researcher.[4]

Emad served as the executive director of the American Iranian Council (AIC), a nonprofit organization that focuses on US-Iran relations.[5] Several United Nations Security Council members drew on his expertise during the negotiations (2013-2016) on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran nuclear deal). While living in New York he was appointed Linowitz Professor of International Affairs at Hamilton College and lectured at Marymount Manhattan College.[6]

In 2023, he cofounded AiXist, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to bring together private and state actors and civil society to produce a global agreement on the use of artificial intelligence technology in weapons systems.[7] The organisation focuses on creating oversight for the risks of integrating artificial intelligence in systems used to design, build, maintain and deploy weapons of mass destruction.

As a researcher and advocate, he has co-authored two books, 15 academic articles and dozens of shorter pieces on the geopolitics of the Middle East for general audiences.[8] He moved to Paris, France during the first Trump administration.

Emad continues to lecture on the Middle East, security and disarmament issues, and their interface with the evolving technology of artificial intelligence.

Publications and media

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Peer-reviewed articles and essays

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  • As guest editor: "Introduction: The Path Forward to a WMD Free Zone in the Middle East," Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, 2022[9]
  • As co-author: “Non-proliferation and Regional Cooperation in the Middle East,” Brown Journal of World Affairs, January 2021 (with Tony Robinson and Sharon Dolev).
  • As co-author: "Achieving the Possible: a WMD-free zone in the Middle East", Reaching Critical Will, November 2019 (with Sharon Dolev and Dina Saadallah).
  • As co-author: "Middle East WMD-Free Zone: Thinking the Possible", The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, Fall 2019 (with Paul Ingram).
  • As co-author: “Fissile Material Controls in the Middle East: Steps toward a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and all other Weapons of Mass Destruction,” International Panel on Fissile Materials, Princeton, October 2013, http://fissilematerials.org/library/rr11.pdf (with Frank von Hippel, Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Harold Feiveson, and Zia Mian).[10]

Books

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The book addresses many of the critical issues that motivated the United Nations Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction in November 2019 ... suggests that the key factors [for failure to create a WMDFZ] include the lack of political will from regional states and world powers and disputes over the conditions under which a zone could be considered. Princeton University Science and Global Security Review[11]

  • Iran and the United States: An Insider’s view on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace, Seyed Hossein Mousavian, ed., Bloomsbury Academic, May 2014. (as contributor)
  • The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir, Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 2012. (as contributor)

News and opinion publications

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Western media

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  • "A WMD-free Middle East is possible, here's how," The New Arab, July 2021 [12]
  • "America’s Last Best Hope for Defeating the Islamic State Is…Iran?" Foreign Policy, November 2014.
  • "The Importance and Possibilities of Establishing a Weapons of Mass Destruction-Free Zone in the Middle East," U.S. Peace Council, October 2013.

Iranian media

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  • "America's Last Best Hope for Defeating the Islamic State Is...Iran?" Payvand, November 2014.[13]
  • “The need for strategic thinking in U.S.-Iran relations,” Tehran Times, April 2014.[14]

Documentary film

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Director-producer Alex Gibney invited Emad, as Executive Director of the American Iranian Council, to appear in the 2016 documentary film Zero Days. The documentary focused on Stuxnet, a piece of self-replicating computer malware that the U.S. and Israel released to destroy a key part of an Iranian nuclear facility, and which ultimately spread beyond its intended target. The film won a Peabody Award was nominated for 8 awards in the political documentary categories.

Television and radio

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Emad has been regularly invited by international television and radio programs to comment on current affairs in the Middle East and disarmament world, including Al Jazeera, BBC, Business Insider, CBS, France 24, IRNA, Radio Popolare, NPR, PBS, INPS Japan, KCRW, Turkish Radio Television, and MDZ (Argentina).

  • "Peacebuilding in the Middle East: Removing the threat of weapons of mass destruction," Middle East Matters, France 24, May 2021.[15]
  • "Iran 1952 to 2001," The Roots of Violence Episode 2, Pressenza, May 2021.[16]
  • "Bye-bye New York." (The Moth GrandSLAM winner). WBEZ Chicago, 2019.[17]
  • “What’s Really Going on in Iran.” Norman Stockwell, The Progressive, 2018.[18]
  • “Questions on Iran’s Nuclear Deal.” Imran Garda, Turkish Radio Television (TRT), 2016.[19]
  • “Inside the prison swap with Iran which freed Washington Post reporter.” Hariharan Sreenivasan, PBS, January 16, 2016.[20]
  • “Syrian Crisis—Solutions.” Richelle Carey, Al Jazeera, November 4, 2015.[21]
  • "On Netanyahu's address." NPR, March 2015.[22]
  • "In Talks with Iran, It's Another Day, Another Delay," To The Point with Warren Olney, KCRW Podcast, June 2015.[23]
  • "The Iranian nuclear negotiations," Al Jazeera America, January 2015.[24]
  • "Iran's Nuclear Talks," NPR, November 2014.[25]
  • “Exclusion of Iran from the Syrian peace talks.” Robert Klara, BBC Radio Five, January 21, 2014.[26]
  • “Iranian Group Will Be Taken Off Watch List.” Marc Lamont Hill, Huffington Post, September 2012.

Lectures, conferences and webinars

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Research institutions and governmental organisations worldwide have invited Emad to speak and contribute at their events, notably the Afro-Middle East Center, Harvard University, International Peace Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United Nations, University of Chicago and Yale University. Selected conferences include:

  • "The Future of the Iran Nuclear Deal and the NPT," Arms Control Association, October 2020.[27]
  • "The Breakdown of the Iran Deal – Global perspectives," United for Peace and Justice, March 2020.[28]
  • “Geopolitics, Nuclear Issues and the Middle East.” The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), New York, September 2016.
  • “Conference on Establishing a Middle East WMD-Free Zone: Devising the Next Steps.” Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS) and the Russians Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moscow, May 2016.
  • “Peace Game: The Syrian Crisis.” Foreign Policy & the United States Institute of Peace, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 2016 and June 2014.
  • “A new Middle East: Resetting the balance of power?” Afro-Middle East Center, Johannesburg, South Africa, December 2015.[29]
  • “8th Al Jazeera Forum: Change in the Arab World: Where To?” Al Jazeera Media Network, Doha, Qatar, May 2014.
  • “Advancing a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East.” Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, United Nations, New York, April 2014.
  • “Steps Toward a Middle East WMD Free Zone.” UN Office of Disarmament Affairs, United Nations, New York, October 2013.[30]
  • “Creating a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East,” Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security, United Nations Plaza, New York, October 17, 2012.[31]
  • “A Preemptive Strike on Iran? Economic and Geopolitical Consequences,” Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, New Haven, October 2012.
  • “The Changing Middle East: Implications for Regional and Global Politics,” East-West Institute, New York, July 2012.
  • “Responding to the Arab Spring: Enhancing Civil Society and Regional Intergovernmental Organizations Collaboration to Meet New Peace and Security Challenges.” Permanent Peace Movement, Beirut, Lebanon, June 2012.
  • “Challenges in the U.S.-Iran Relationship, 2001-2009.” MIT, Boston, June 2012.
  • “Breaking the Impasse Between Iran and the United States.” Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., May, 2012.
  • “U.S.-Iran Relations in the Wake of the Arab Spring-Confrontation or Accommodation?” Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago, Chicago, November 30, 2011.
  • “Forthcoming Iranian parliamentary elections: Under the shadow of international sanctions and the threat of war.” Georgetown University, Washington D.C., February 2011.

Podcast episodes

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Emad has been interviewed for numerous international podcasts including. In 2021, he was interviewed for METO's fortnightly podcast series, In The Zone,[32] which explores constructive approaches to improve the chances of achieving a WMDFZ in the Middle East. The series features interviews with WMD disarmament experts on technical and political solutions to overcome obstacles, how to build trust between countries and more broadly how to improve peace and security for people in the region. He has appeared on PBS Newhour, [33]

References

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  1. ^ "A Draft Treaty for a WMD Free Zone in the Middle East: Time to Envisage the Practical – UNODA". www.un.org. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  2. ^ "The Moth | The Art and Craft of Storytelling". The Moth. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  3. ^ "Emad Kiyaei". American Iranian Council. 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  4. ^ "News 2020-06-01 | Princeton Science & Global Security". sgs.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  5. ^ "Former AIC Director Emad Kiyaei Named Linowitz Professor". Hamilton College. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  6. ^ "Former AIC Director Emad Kiyaei Named Linowitz Professor". Hamilton College. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  7. ^ ICESCO (2024-10-25). "L'ICESCO organise un colloque sur l'intelligence artificielle et la paix au profit des jeunes ambassadeurs pour la paix". ICESCO.org (in French). Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  8. ^ "A Middle East Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction: A New Approach to Nonproliferation". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  9. ^ Kiyaei, Emad (2022-01-02). "Introduction: The Path Forward to a WMD Free Zone in the Middle East". Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. 5 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1080/25751654.2022.2094699.
  10. ^ von Hippel, Frank; Mousavian, Seyed Hossein; Kiyaei, Emad; Feiveson, Harold; Mian, Zia (2013-10-01). "Fissile Material Controls in the Middle East: Steps toward a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and all other Weapons of Mass Destruction" (PDF). International Panel on Fissile Materials Research Report (11).
  11. ^ a b "News 2020-06-01 | Princeton Science & Global Security". sgs.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  12. ^ Kiyaei, Emad. "A WMD-free Middle East is possible, here's how". The New Arab. Archived from the original on 2024-10-07. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  13. ^ "America's Last Best Hope for Defeating the Islamic State Is...Iran?". www.payvand.com. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  14. ^ Kiyaei, Emad (29 April 2014). "The need for strategic thinking in U.S.-Iran relations". Tehran Times. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Middle East matters - Peacebuilding in the Middle East: Removing the threat of weapons of mass destruction". France 24. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  16. ^ "The Roots of Violence episode 2 Iran 1952 to 2001". Big News Network.com. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  17. ^ "Bye-Bye New York: Emad Kiyaei". WBEZ Chicago. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  18. ^ Stockwell, Norman (2018-01-18). "What's Really Going on in Iran". Progressive.org. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  19. ^ The Newsmakers: Questions on Iran's Nuclear Deal and Merkel's Migration Backlash, 14 March 2016, retrieved 2021-05-28
  20. ^ Inside the prison swap with Iran which freed Washington Post reporter, 16 January 2016, retrieved 2021-05-28
  21. ^ Emad Kiyaei discusses Syria crisis on AJAM, 4 November 2015, retrieved 2021-05-28
  22. ^ NPR: Emad Kiyaei on Netanyahu's Fallout, 3 November 2016, retrieved 2021-05-28
  23. ^ "In Talks with Iran, It's Another Day, Another Delay | To the Point". KCRW. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  24. ^ Emad Kiyaei discusses the Iranian nuclear negotiations on Al Jazeera America, 26 February 2015, retrieved 2021-05-28
  25. ^ NPR: Emad Kiyaei on Iran's Nuclear Talks, 3 November 2016, retrieved 2021-05-28
  26. ^ BBC: Emad Kiyaei on Syrian Peace Talks, 3 November 2016, retrieved 2021-05-28
  27. ^ "WEBINAR: "The Future of the Iran Nuclear Deal and the NPT" | Arms Control Association". www.armscontrol.org. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  28. ^ United for Peace (2020-03-23). "The Breakdown of the Iran Deal – Global perspectives". United For Peace and Justice. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  29. ^ "A new Middle East: Resetting the balance of power - 7-9 Dec 2015 - Afro-Middle East Centre". amec.org.za. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  30. ^ Roger Hawkins (2013). "Steps Toward a Middle East WMD Free Zone". Youtube.
  31. ^ Roger Hawkins (2012). "Creating a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East". Youtube.
  32. ^ "Podcasts – Middle East Treaty Organization". Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  33. ^ "Inside the prison swap with Iran which freed Washington Post reporter". PBS News. 2016-01-16. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
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