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Meir Javedanfar is an Iranian-Israeli Middle East analyst. He teaches Iranian Security studies at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and is a senior research fellow at The Ezri Center For Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Haifa. On Twitter: @meirja
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![MUNICH, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 2: (L-R) Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, US Senator Christopher Murphy and chairman and organizer of the 50th Munich Security Conference (MSC)Wolfgang Ischinger attend a panel discussion during the 50th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in the Bayerischer Hof hotel on February 2, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The Munich Security Conference is to open with](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/02/466542111.jpg/466542111.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=TmEYEO3K)
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Meir Javedanfar
![EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
An Iranian official works at her desk in the main hall of the Tehran Stock Exchange August 3, 2010. Sanctions against Iran have done nothing to dent a boom in its stock market, as investors bet on a continued rise in company stocks which have been undervalued for years, the head of the Tehran bourse said. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/01/RTR2GZX4.jpg/RTR2GZX4.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=wpYSMTbc)
![Meir Javedanfar](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/2019/meir-javedanfar.jpg/meir-javedanfar.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=cSrxOnn5)
Meir Javedanfar
![Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement at his office in Jerusalem November 24, 2013. Netanyahu on Sunday denounced the world powers' nuclear agreement with Iran as a historic mistake that left the production of atomic weapons within Tehran's reach. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15R07](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/11/RTX15R07.jpg/RTX15R07.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=XO_8Pdt8)
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Meir Javedanfar
![RTX156M5.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/11/RTX156M5.jpg/RTX156M5.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=C5bP5H50)
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Meir Javedanfar
![A general view shows a dried-up water canal in Eghlid in the southern Iranian province of Fars on July 8, 2008. According to local legend, Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire, abhorred the telling of lies, which he believed to be his people's worst enemy. It is said that next in line was drought. Little has changed for the modern-day descendants of those who lived 2,500 years ago in what is now Iran. Eghlid has 11 rivers -- but 10 of them have now run dry. The agricultural town's altitude of 2,23](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/11/83994486.jpg/83994486.jpg?h=6c6b25af&itok=EhvF0nz8)
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Meir Javedanfar
![Irani workers stand near as a security helicopter lands near the pipeline during a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the inauguration of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, in the city of Chahbahar in southeastern Iran March 11, 2013. Ahmadinejad and Zardari marked the start of Pakistani construction on the much-delayed gas pipeline on Monday, Iranian media reported, despite U.S. pressure on Islamabad to back out of the project. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3EUW9](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/10/pipeline.jpg/pipeline.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=EpliUi_v)
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Meir Javedanfar
![Iranian-Jewish minority Member of Parliament, Siamak Meresedgh, poses for a photograph in front of a banner for the 2012 parliamentary elections, after he registered as a candidate at the Interior Ministry building in Tehran December 25, 2011. Candidates began registering on Saturday for Iran's parliamentary elections in March, the first litmus test of the clerical establishment's popularity since the 2009 disputed presidential vote. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR2VMNV](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/09/Siamak-Moreh-Sedgh-RTR2VMNV.jpg/Siamak-Moreh-Sedgh-RTR2VMNV.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=zGcyzVww)
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Meir Javedanfar
![Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, August 30, 2012. REUTERS/Hamid Forootan/ISNA (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR379UE](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/1-RTR379UE.jpg/1-RTR379UE.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=PRTubUyu)
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Meir Javedanfar
![Lebanese civilians and supporters of Hezbollah take part in a candle light vigil in solidarity with people who died in a car bomb that occurred on last Thursday in Beirut's southern suburbs August 19, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12R0W](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/hezb.jpg/hezb.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=YrS7N2fp)
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Meir Javedanfar
![Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu smiles at the start of an interview with Reuters in Jerusalem June 17, 2013. Iran's election has exposed popular discontent with the Tehran government but was unlikely to bring about any change in Iranian nuclear policy, Netanyahu told Reuters on Monday. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS HEADSHOT) - RTX10R1G](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/RTX10R1G.jpg/RTX10R1G.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=b5PkGQ1A)
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Meir Javedanfar
![Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans in front of army soldiers at Republican Guard headquarters in Nasr City, a suburb of Cairo July 8, 2013. At least 51 people were killed on Monday when demonstrators enraged by the military overthrow of Egypt's elected Islamist president said the army opened fire during morning prayers outside the Cairo barracks where Mursi is believed to be held. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVI](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/07/1-RTX11GX1.jpg/1-RTX11GX1.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=XUDISP3M)
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Meir Javedanfar