What Ali Vaez thinks about America
Iranian-American analyst, director of the Iran Project and deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the International Crisis Group, and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
Ali Vaez did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
3 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Ali Vaez has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsAs we brace for war, it’s important to remember that Washington and Israel can bomb Iran into ruins, but not into submission
- 8 months earlier
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Our readingThe US-Israeli war on Iran that began in February 2026 is a war of choice, not necessity.
Their wordsThe U.S. and Israel initiated strikes on Iran without a direct, imminent threat. That makes this a discretionary conflict, and history shows wars of choice often come with long, unpredictable tails.
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Their wordsIf Hezbollah fully engages from Lebanon, if militias strike U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, or if the Houthis escalate in the Red Sea, this stops being a bilateral conflict and becomes a region-wide war stretching across the Middle East.