The Iran Conference 2026

NUFDI's fifth annual Iran Conference — two days at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. (September 24–25, 2026), where analysts, policymakers, experts and activists from across the political spectrum discussed Iran and Iran policy.

The conference opened with welcome remarks by NUFDI President Dr. Saeed Ganji. Over two days, seven panels, a keynote address, two fireside chats and a research presentation examined the regime's military and nuclear program, the limits of negotiation and pressure, who actually holds power in Iran, the sanctions and financial lifelines that sustain the regime, its machinery of executions and prisons, the information war over Iran, and the regime's transnational repression and influence networks in the United States and Europe.

Attendance was by invitation only, and the conference reached full capacity. Both days were streamed live on NUFDI's YouTube channel: the Day 1 livestream is above, and the full recording of each day is available through the buttons on this page.

Day 1 — Thursday, September 24

• Welcome and opening remarks — Dr. Saeed Ganji, President of NUFDI.
• The Military and the Bomb: What's Left, What's Rebuilt, What's Missing — moderated by Danielle Cohen-Kanik (Jewish Insider), with Andrea Stricker (FDD), Fred Fleitz (America First Policy Institute) and Ari Cicurel (JINSA).
• Negotiation and Pressure: What Washington Can Actually Achieve — moderated by Aaron Lobel (America Abroad Media), with Behnam Ben Taleblu (FDD), Carrie Filipetti (The Vandenberg Coalition) and Alex Winston (The Jerusalem Post).
• Video message — Adm. Robert Harward (USN, Ret.), former Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command.
• Keynote address — Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC).
• Who Is Actually Running Iran? — moderated by Alex Winston (The Jerusalem Post), with Khosro Isfahani (NUFDI), Ilan Berman (American Foreign Policy Council) and Danielle Pletka (American Enterprise Institute).
• Money and Lifelines: Sanctions, Oil, and the Regime's Patrons — moderated by Shally Zomorodi (FOX 5 San Diego), with Patrick Clawson (The Washington Institute), Miad Maleki (FDD) and Amb. Nathan Sales, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Counterterrorism.

Day 2 — Friday, September 25

• Remarks — Andrew Ghalili, Policy Director, NUFDI.
• Executions, Prisons, and the Machinery of Fear — moderated by Nazenin Ansari (Kayhan London), with Dr. Ahmad Batebi (NUFDI), Marjan Keypour (Alliance for Rights of All Minorities) and Patricia Karam (American Task Force on Lebanon).
• The Information War: Blackouts, Broadcasting, and How the Press Got Iran Wrong — moderated by Negar Mojtahedi (Iran International), with Janatan Sayeh (FDD), Albert Eisenberg (Red Bridge; Broad + Liberty) and Jonathan Harounoff, author of Unveiled.
• Fireside chat — Morgan Ortagus, former Deputy Presidential Envoy to the Middle East, in conversation with Shally Zomorodi.
• Fireside chat — Dr. Kiron Skinner, former Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State, in conversation with Shally Zomorodi.
• Presentation of research: The Islamic Republic's Influence Network — Tymahz Toumadje and Nader Sadeghi, NUFDI.
• The Long Arm: The Regime's Transnational Repression and Influence Networks in America and Europe — moderated by Tymahz Toumadje (NUFDI), with Gazelle Sharmahd (International Freedom Coalition), Dalia Ziada (ISGAP) and Katie LaRoque (Freedom House).

The conference concluded with closing remarks on the afternoon of September 25.