Experts & Staff

Ellie Geranmayeh

Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa programme
Senior Policy Fellow

Areas of expertise

Europe-Iran relations; Iran nuclear deal and associated sanctions policy; Iranian foreign and domestic policy; Iran-Saudi relations

Languages

English, Persian

Biography

Ellie Geranmayeh is a senior policy fellow and deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. She focuses on European policy in relation to Iran, particularly on the nuclear and regional dossiers and sanctions policy.

Geranmayeh worked extensively on the diplomatic track that led to the 2015 nuclear deal and continues to brief senior policymakers on how to effectively contain Iran’s nuclear activities. Her research also covers wider regional dynamics including de-escalation efforts between the GCC states and Iran, and geopolitical trends in the Middle East as a consequence of increasing tensions between global powers.

She is regularly quoted by international media outlets including the New York TimesWall Street Journal, The Guardian, and appears on CNN, Al-Jazeera and the BBC to provide commentary on developments in the Middle East.

Boost the momentum with Iran – don’t slow it down

The next few months will present some of the biggest, and at times unexpected, challenges for those advocating a political solution addressing Iran’s nuclear programme. 

Third time lucky in Geneva

The E3+3 and Iran met for a third time in Geneva to sign an interim agreement on the future of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. While not perfect, the deal is a springboard for future negotiations and sets a solid foundation for talks between the E3+3 and Iran to continue.

French resistance to a deal with Iran: un petit problème?

Fingers are pointing to the French for stalling a joint statement between the E3+3 and Iran over its nuclear programme. But there's still room to remain positive about the pace at which diplomacy can come to fruition in these talks.

Assessing the talks with Iran: a step towards pragmatism

There has been consensus amongst the negotiators that the discussions had been positively led by Iran in a very different manner than previous talks. The key message from these rounds of talks is that the Iranian team provided details for their proposal rather than a vague or impractical framework.

Publications

Articles

Generation no: The Iranian uprising and how the West should respond

Young people in Iran have led mass protests after the death of a woman in police custody. The West should stand in solidarity with the protesters while keeping the diplomatic route open to constrain Iran’s nuclear programme.

Rogue NATO: The new face of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The SCO is often seen as the anti-NATO, but Putin will struggle to convince the other members – especially the Central Asian states – that his war is more important than Chinese investment

The narrow path to agreement: How Europe should support the Iran nuclear deal

If European governments want to salvage the deal before it is too late, while also opening up the prospect of negotiations with Iran on regional security, they need to quickly and clearly reject the argument that the two issues should be bundled together

Specials

Podcasts

Events

In the media