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Afshin Molavi is a journalist and writer with ten years of experience covering the Middle East and U.S foreign policy. In postings in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai, Washington, and Tehran, and extensive travels in Egypt, Syria, and Morocco, Molavi has covered a wide range of political, economic, and cultural topics related to Middle East affairs and U.S regional policy. His articles from the Middle East and Washington have appeared in the Washington Post, the Financial Times of London, BusinessWeek, Foreign Policy, the Christian Science Monitor, and numerous other publications. Most recently, Molavi covered Iran for the Washington Post and has published a book based on his travels in Iran. The book -- Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys Across Iran -- explores Iranian history, culture, politics, and the contemporary Iranian predicament. Kirkus Reviews called it “a welcome and - in the best Iranian tradition - subtly shaded journey through a country that once commanded US attention and then seemed to drop off the radar.” Molavi, who served as an Iran Studies fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, has lectured on Iran at Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, the National Defense University, the Middle East Institute, and the Open Society Institute. Molavi holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park and an M.A. in Middle East History from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.