MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Honors College will convene a panel of faculty experts to help the campus community better understand the rapidly intensifying conflict in Iran involving U.S. and Israeli military forces.

Open to the public, the event will take place at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the College of Education Building, Room 160, 1756 MTSU Blvd.

The panel will feature Political and Global Affairs professor Andrei Korobkov (political science and international relations), Department of History professor Sean Foley (Middle East and Islamic history), and Department of History lecturer Luke Truxal (air power and American military history).  

Joan McRae, professor of French and humanities, will serve as moderator.

In late 2025 and early 2026, Iran saw massive nationwide protests (spanning more than 100 cities) driven by economic crisis and political unrest, which were met with violent state repression resulting in thousands of deaths and detentions.

The situation further escalated when the United States and Israel launched major joint strikes against the country, dramatically reshaping stability across the Middle East. 

The MTSU panel discussion is free and open to all students, faculty, staff and community members seeking informed perspectives on one of today’s most significant global crises.

Visitor parking is available in all valid unreserved or unrestricted parking spaces on our campus. All visitors are required to obtain a permit from the Parking and Transportation Services Office at 205 City View Drive or via the visitor parking permit form. Visitor parking is $4/day. A campus parking map is available at https://bit.ly/MTSUParking.

— Robin E. Lee (robin.e.lee@mtsu.edu)