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Robin Wright head shot - The New Yorker

Robin Wright

Robin Wright, a contributing writer and columnist, has written for The New Yorker since 1988. Her first piece on Iran won the National Magazine Award for best reporting. A former correspondent for the Washington Post, CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, and the Sunday Times of London, she has reported from more than a hundred and forty countries. She is also a distinguished fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She has been a fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as well as at Yale, Duke, Dartmouth, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Wright received the U.N. Correspondents Association Gold Medal for international coverage, and the Overseas Press Club Award for the “best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and initia­tive,” for her coverage of African wars. The American Academy of Diplomacy named her journalist of the year for “distinguished reporting and analysis of international affairs.” She also won the National Press Club Award for diplomatic reporting and has been the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant.

Wright is the author of several books, including “The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran,” “Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam,” and “Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East,” which was selected by the New York Times and the Washington Post as one of the most notable books of 2008. Her book, “Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World,” was selected as the best book on international affairs by the Overseas Press Club.

Iran’s Regime Is Unsustainable

Political repression and a teetering economy have sparked widespread protests and chants of “Death to the Dictator.”

The Aggressive Ambitions of Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine”

After his assault on Venezuela, the President is turning his attention to the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

Going Nuclear Without Blowing Up

How Rafael Grossi risks his life tracking the world’s most dangerous material.

Is Donald Trump’s Sweeping Gaza Peace Plan Really Viable?

Many doubts prevail, but the deal is “political gold” for Benjamin Netanyahu either way.

Can Ayatollah Khamenei, and Iran’s Theocracy, Survive This War?

The future of the Islamic Republic may be shaped more by the country’s culture and politics than by the military prowess of its opponents.

What Is Israel’s Endgame with Iran?

There appears to be no off-ramp yet, as the destruction and death toll mount in both countries.

Iran’s Daughters of the Sea

Forough Alaei’s stunning photographs of a community of fisherwomen on a remote island in the Persian Gulf.

Torture and Tres Leches in Iran’s Most Notorious Prison

Part memoir, part exposé, part cookbook, “The Evin Prison Bakers’ Club” reveals the hidden lives of women dissidents in the Islamic Republic.

Why Trump Talks About a “Genocide” in South Africa

The Administration admits its favorite refugees to the United States. Plus: the alarming implications of the President’s crypto play.

Donald Trump’s Combative Pursuits in Panama

The President accused China of “lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal.” The truth is more complicated.

The Pandas Take Washington

From the daily newsletter: Robin Wright reports on D.C.’s real power players. Plus: our writers on Trump’s Day One; revisiting Philip Roth’s “The Plot Against America”; and what to see at Under the Radar festival.

The Remarkable Collapse of Iran’s Powerful Alliances

The Islamic Republic is weaker—on multiple fronts—than it’s been in nearly half a century.

Syria After Assad

The scramble is on to define the future of Syria, quickly, to avert a war even more divisive than the conflict that has riven the nation for thirteen years.

What Happens to Hamas and Hezbollah Now That Their Leaders Have Been Killed?

The Israeli government’s “triumphalism” may be premature given the American track record on counterterrorism in the Middle East.

What Israel’s Assassination of Hezbollah’s Leader Means for the Middle East

The death of Hassan Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, will be a political earthquake for the movement.

Iran’s New President Makes His U.N. Début as the Middle East Is in Flames

With the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel threatening to tip into all-out war, Masoud Pezeshkian calls for diplomacy.

What Raisi’s Death Means for the Future of Iran

For a country facing deep challenges, and with an aging Supreme Leader, the President’s demise has spawned an existential question: Who can sustain the revolution?

An Iranian Woman Finds Her Might, in “The Smallest Power”

Both the subject and the makers of this animated short discover their identities and a new love of their nation.

What It Takes to Give Palestinians a Voice

A new poll conducted during war in Gaza and escalating tensions in the West Bank allows Palestinians to tell the world what they want for their future.

The U.S. Confronts Middle Eastern Militias but Not Iran’s Long Game

Strikes against weapons depots and operations centers in Iraq and Syria will not diminish Iran’s determination to expel the U.S. from the Middle East.