The United States and Israel carried out military strikes on Iran on Saturday. Rice University experts can address geopolitical strategy, regional dynamics, humanitarian impacts and energy markets tied to the Israel-Iran conflict and U.S. foreign policy.
Gulf politics and regional dynamics
Expert: Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
Ulrichsen studies the evolving role of Persian Gulf states in the global order and the rise of long-term, nonmilitary regional security challenges. His work centers on regional dynamics and the Gulf’s external relationships.
Expertise: Gulf politics and intraregional conflict, including:
- Iran’s role in the regional power balance
- Shifting alliances among Gulf states
- Interaction between state and nonstate actors
U.S. foreign policy and geopolitical strategy
Expert: David Satterfield, director of Rice’s Baker Institute
Satterfield has more than four decades of diplomatic and policy leadership experience in the U.S. and abroad, including service as assistant secretary of state, National Security Council staff director, ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey and chargé d’affaires in Iraq and Egypt. From October 2023 through 2025, he was the Presidential Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues and subsequently adviser to the Department of State.
Expertise: U.S. diplomatic responses and regional strategy, including:
- U.S. decision-making and diplomatic options
- International coordination and coalition dynamics
- Humanitarian and political implications of escalation
Humanitarian fallout and displacement
Expert: Kelsey Norman, fellow for the Middle East and director of the Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees Program at Rice’s Baker Institute
Norman focuses on migration and refugee politics, human rights and international relations in the Middle East, North Africa and globally.
Expertise: Migration, human rights and conflict impacts, including:
- Refugee movements and regional displacement
- Humanitarian consequences of escalation
- Intersection of U.S. policy and human rights in the Middle East
Energy security and geopolitics, Gulf oil producers and market implications
Expert: Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute
Krane studies the political economy of energy in oil-exporting countries, particularly in the Persian Gulf, and previously reported from the Middle East as an Associated Press correspondent.
Expertise: Energy geopolitics and oil-exporting states, including:
- Energy security implications of Middle East tensions
- Gulf oil producer strategy and market behavior
- Economic pressures facing oil-exporting countries
- Strait of Hormuz and regional supply risk
Expert: Ken Medlock, the James A. Baker III and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and senior director of the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute
Medlock’s research spans energy commodity markets, electricity markets, national oil companies, energy prices and international trade, transportation, energy demand, the environment and energy transition topics such as carbon capture, hydrogen and technology adoption.
Expertise: Oil markets and energy security, including:
- Oil price volatility tied to Middle East conflict
- Supply chain resilience and global energy risks
- Economic impacts of geopolitical instability
Expert: Harold “Skip” York, nonresident fellow in energy and global oil at Rice’s Baker Institute
York is an energy executive and economist specializing in global oil and gas markets.
Expertise: Global oil and gas markets, including:
- Effects of geopolitical instability on oil flows
- Energy investment behavior
- U.S. energy interests in volatile regions
Expert: Abhi Rajendran, nonresident fellow at the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute
Rajendran specializes in oil and downstream markets and North American energy research and also analyzes geopolitical risk, the energy transition, corporate strategy, and gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets.
Expertise: Global energy systems and supply chains, including:
- Oil and refining market dynamics
- Supply chain risk from regional conflict
- Broader energy market volatility
To schedule an interview with any of the experts, please contact Marcy de Luna, national media relations specialist, at marcy.deluna@rice.edu, and Avery Franklin, media relations specialist, at averyrf@rice.edu.