IR TALKS 12 – The Middle East at a Crossroads: Iran, Regional Escalation, and Global Security

Date: 19 March 2026, 17:20-18:50 

Location: Corvinus University of Budapest, Building C, C.201 

Language of the event: English 

The discussion will address the recent escalation between Iran, Israel, and the United States, including US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets and the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The event will explore the implications of these developments for Iran’s political future, including the prospects for regime change, elite fragmentation, and domestic instability. The talk will also consider the broader regional dimension, including the risk of spillover violence and attacks involving neighbouring Middle Eastern states, as well as the role of external powers and competing foreign interests. Particular attention will be given to the strategic security of key maritime chokepoints—the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Suez Canal—and how instability around these routes could affect global trade and energy security. The session aims to provide a concise analytical overview of the strategic stakes and possible trajectories of the unfolding crisis. 

The event will feature Professor László Csicsmann and Dr. Scott N. Romaniuk from the Centre for Contemporary Asia Studies at the Corvinus Institute for Advanced Studies (CIAS) and the Department of International Relations (Institute of Global Studies) at Corvinus University of Budapest, Younes Saramifar, Assistant Professor of Inhumanities, School of Humanities, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Mina Shahmiri, PhD Candidate in International Relations at Corvinus University of Budapest. They will share their perspectives on regional dynamics and the broader implications for international security and global politics. 

IR TALKS is a series of guest and roundtable talks organised by the Department of International Relations at Corvinus University to make sense of the world we live in at a time of turbulent international politics.