Sadegh Zibakalam

Sadegh Zibakalam is an Iranian political scientist and commentator known for publicly challenging the state line on sensitive topics including Iran's nuclear programme, relations with Israel, and political freedoms. He earned his PhD in political science from the University of Bradford in 1989.

Zibakalam served as professor at the University of Tehran and held faculty positions at Islamic Azad University. He played a role in the Iranian Cultural Revolution in the early 1980s, for which he later publicly apologised and expressed regret.

He registered as a parliamentary candidate from Zanjan Province in the 2000 legislative election but was disqualified by the Guardian Council. In January 2014, he wrote an open letter criticising President Hassan Rouhani for failing to fulfil campaign promises, including freeing political prisoners Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi. In February 2014, he made headlines for publicly recognising the State of Israel based on its UN membership.

In March 2018, an Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year ban from political and social media activity for critical remarks in an interview with Deutsche Welle. He received the Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award in 2018.

His notable students include Saeed Hajjarian and Fatemeh Hashemi Rafsanjani. His bestselling books include How Did We Become What We Are? and An Introduction to Islamic Revolution. His brother Saeid Zibakalam is also an academic at the University of Tehran, and Ahmad Tavakkoli is his co-father-in-law.