Mohammad Marandi

Seyed Mohammad Marandi
Marandi in 2014
Born	(1966-05-14) 14 May 1966 (age 59) Richmond, Virginia, United States
Citizenship	Iran United States
Occupation(s)	Author, analyst
Parent	Alireza Marandi (father)
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Birmingham (PhD)
Thesis	Lord Byron, his critics and Orientalism  (2003)

Seyed Mohammad Marandi ^[a] (born 14 May 1966) is an American-Iranian academic, political analyst and described by his website as a "prominent Iranian defender of the Islamic revolution". ^{[1] [2]} He is the son of Alireza Marandi, a physician who was a Minister of Health in Iran's government while also a Member of Parliament.

Early life and education

Seyed Mohammad Marandi was born on 14 May 1966 in Richmond, Virginia, and spent the first 13 years of his life in the United States. Following his move to Iran, he volunteered to fight in the Iran-Iraq war and survived two Iraqi chemical weapons attacks. ^[3]

Marandi is a graduate of the University of Tehran and Birmingham University (UK), where his PhD thesis was entitled "Lord Byron, his critics and Orientalism", described as a "response to Edward Said's Orientalism ". ^[4]

Career

Marandi was the head of the North American Studies program at the University of Tehran; ^[3] he is currently a professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the university. ^[5]

Marandi has appeared as a political and social commentator on international news networks such as Channel 4, ^[6] Sky News, ^{[7] [8]} PBS, ABC, CGTN, CNN, ^[9] BBC, ^[10] Al Jazeera, ^[11] and RT. He has also contributed opinion pieces to publications such as Al Jazeera, ^[12] Middle East Eye, ^[5] and Tehran Times. ^[13]

He is an adviser to the Iranian nuclear negotiations team in Vienna. ^[14]

Views

Following the 2022 stabbing of Salman Rushdie, Marandi wrote

"I won't be shedding tears for a writer who spouts endless hatred & contempt for Muslims & Islam. But is it a coincidence that just when we are on the verge of revitalising the nuclear agreement, America makes claims about an attempted assassination of Bolton and then this happens?”. ^{[15] [16]}

Marandi's statement referred to the United States Department of Justice's allegation that Iran had planned to assassinate US national security advisor John Bolton in 2020. ^[17]

Marandi has been noted for not being overly concerned about UN resolutions against Iran. According to a tweet by the Twitter account of reformist daily Shargh posted on 28 December 2021, Marandi stated that

"What will happen if the UN resolutions against Iran are revived? We attach no value to the other side's ultimatums, because nothing is going to happen to us even if they pull out of the JCPOA and activate the trigger mechanism." ^{[18] [19]}

Written works

• "Oppressors and Oppressed Reconsidered: A Shi‘itologic Perspective on the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah’s Outlook on International Relations" (with Raffaele Mauriello) in Islam and International Relations: Contributions to Theory and Practice, Springer, 2015, pp. 50–71.
• "The Khamenei Doctrine: Iran’s leader on diplomacy, foreign policy and international relations" (with Raffaele Mauriello) in Islam in International Relations: Politics and Paradigms, Routledge, 2018, pp. 18–38.

Notes

1. Persian: محمد مرندی

Sources

1. "New Book by Mohammad Marandi and Sandew Hira". mmarandi.com. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
2. Ghanbarzadeh, Illya (10 October 2024). "Who is Mohammad Marandi, Iran's Chief Propagandist in English?". Iranwire. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
3. "Man with a Country". Guernica. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
4. Database
5. "Seyed Mohammad Marandi". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
6. "Israel vows to 'exact a price' as Iran launches first ever direct attack". Youtube. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
7. "Iran attack a 'major humiliation for Israeli regime' says Iranian professor". Youtube. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
8. "Analysis: Can the world avoid further conflict in the Middle East?". Youtube. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
9. "Fareed Zakaria Interviews Iranian "Regime" Spokesman Professor Mohammed Marandi". Moneycontrol.com. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
10. "BBC Doha Debate November 9, 2009". Youtube. 15 November 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
11. AlJazeeraEnglish (30 January 2010). "Iranian professor "defends" executions". Youtube. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
12. "Seyed Mohammad Marandi | Al Jazeera News | Today's latest from Al Jazeera". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
13. "Mohammad Marandi". Tehran Times. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
14. Tamara Qiblawi and Mostafa Salem (10 August 2022). "Trump's shadow looms over last ditch effort to revive Iran nuclear deal". CNN. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
15. "Salman Rushdie attack: Iranians react with mixture of praise and concern". The Guardian. 13 August 2022. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
16. "Marandi: Claims on Bolton assassination, Rushdie attack before nuclear agreement odd news". Islamic Republic News Agency. 13 August 2022. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
17. Rabinowitz, Hannah; Cohen, Marshall; Hansler, Jennifer & Atwood, Kylie (10 August 2022). "US Justice Department charges Iranian with trying to assassinate John Bolton". CNN. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
18. "Who Is The Mysterious Man Who Accompanies Iran's Negotiators?". Iran International. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
19. "@SharghDaily". Twitter/X. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2025.