Ervand Abrahamian (born 1940) is an Iranian-American eminent historian of Iran and the Middle East, based in New York. He is Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and is widely regarded as one of the leading historians of modern Iran. His book Iran Between Two Revolutions is widely regarded as a masterpiece and one of the definitive English-language texts on the contemporary history and politics of Iran, and cited as a major source in master’s level study of this field.

In this interview, Professor Abrahamian offers a considered and measured take on the sharp political developments that have taken place in Iran since September 2022. Importantly, he suggests that despite the deepening crisis of legitimacy and widespread discontent with the ruling regime in Iran, the current situation is still not comparable to that which took shape in the lead-up to the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s regime and the ensuing February 1979 Revolution and that such comparisons are simply ill-founded.

We publish this interview as one of the notable assessments regarding the recent civil unrest and major protests that has swept through Iran since Friday 16 September 2022 to inform those interested in developments in the country.

We are sure that the definitive verdict on these protests remains yet to be delivered…