Session Five | THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN AND ITS PURSUIT OF HEGEMONY | WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Avi Melamed is a former Israeli Intelligence Official and Senior Official on Arab Affairs. In his public service, Avi has held high-risk Government, Senior Advisory, Intelligence, and Counter-Terrorist intelligence positions in Arab cities and communities throughout the region on behalf of Israeli Government agencies.

An Author, Intelligence Analyst, Educator, and Speaker, his expertise is Current Affairs in the Arab & Muslim World and their Impact on the Middle East and Israel’s Geopolitical Environment.
He is the Founder and Chief Education Officer of Inside The Middle East, a non-profit dedicated to providing an apolitical, non-partisan education about the Middle East.

Fluent in Arabic, English & Hebrew, Avi has a proven record of foreseeing the evolution of events in the Middle East & their impact on a local and regional level.

@negarmojtahedi

Negar Mojtahedi is a multi-platform journalist working at Iran International English. She previously worked as a reporter and producer at Global News/Global National, CBC News and CTV in Canada. She is also an investigative reporter who broke the story on Iranian regime interference in Canada, exposing regime-linked affiliates operating in Canada and threatening the lives of Iranian-Canadians. She pushed for answers and accountability on the national security issue from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She is passionate about storytelling and uses her skills to raise awareness, help people and bring about positive representation to combat negative stereotypes. Negar is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her first documentary ‘My dream goes all the way to Iran’  is a powerful portrait of the Iranian expatriate, an immigrant population that is often misunderstood and misrepresented. Negar believes the heart of every story is emotion.