Mark Dubowitz

He grew up in Toronto and is a former venture capitalist and technology executive; while earning a master’s degree in international public policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), he focused on China.⁠[1]

He holds JD and MBA degrees from the University of Toronto, has lived in Washington, D.C., since 2003 and is an American citizen.⁠[2]

He appeared as FDD’s executive director at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. The chair introduced him as leading FDD projects on sanctions and nonproliferation and as coauthor of eight studies on economic sanctions against Iran. In his testimony he said that the “myth of moderation” revived by Hassan Rouhani’s election as Iran’s president might not be warranted and that, if that moderation proved only aspirational, Washington could allow Iran to solidify its grip on Syria and develop an irreversible nuclear capability.⁠[3]

At a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on sanctions relief under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he testified as executive director of FDD’s Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance, calling the agreement “deeply flawed” and focusing his criticism on the sunset clause, which lets restrictions expire over five to fifteen years, and on what he called the “nuclear snapback.”⁠[4]

A biography from his time as FDD’s executive director states that The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is a U.S. news publication founded in 1889, with a focus on business, finance and economics. It is published by Dow Jones, part of News Corp.Open the full entry’s Jay Solomon featured him as one of the key “financial warriors” against Iran in his 2016 book The Iran Wars; it also states that he taught courses on sanctions and international negotiations at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, where he was a senior fellow.⁠[5]

On May 12, 2016, he appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, whose chairman introduced him as FDD’s executive director and the author of fifteen studies on economic sanctions. In his testimony he argued that the nuclear deal placed only limited, temporary and reversible constraints on Iran’s nuclear activities, while economic relief gave Iran hard currency that freed up funds for financing terrorism and missiles.⁠[6]

On May 24 of the same year he testified again, at a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the role of sanctions under the Iran deal.⁠[7]

After the United States announced its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, he said he felt “ambivalent”: he agreed the deal was flawed but was disappointed that efforts to fix it had been abandoned.⁠[8]

Supporters of the deal accused him of providing the intellectual foundation for its demise; Jon B. Wolfsthal, a former Obama administration arms control official, and Barbara Slavin of the Atlantic Council both said he owned the consequences. He replied that he was being attacked by the right for being a fixer and by the left for being a nixer.⁠[8]

Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement adding FDD and its chief executive Mark Dubowitz to its sanctions list under the country’s law on countering U.S. “violation of human rights and adventurous and terrorist activities” in the region, accusing them of “designing, imposing and intensifying the impacts of economic terrorism against Iran” and saying those on the list would face the legal consequences set out in the law.⁠[9]

Tehran said judicial action could follow against the foundation, Dubowitz and Iranian colleagues; he responded that FDD “considers its inclusion on any list put out by the regime as a badge of honor.”⁠[10]

FDD launched The Iran Breakdown, a ten-episode podcast miniseries hosted by him, releasing the first three episodes at once and featuring experts discussing the challenges and opportunities related to Iran.⁠[11]

The show has continued since then; its description says it is produced by FDD and hosted by him, covering Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, its regional proxies and its domestic situation.⁠[12]

In episode 473 he debated the Iran war with Scott HortonScott HortonScott Horton is an American libertarian anti-war radio and podcast host and author, the founder and director of The Libertarian Institute and editorial director of Antiwar.com, who hosts The Scott Horton Show and has written books critical of U.S. military intervention, including Fool’s Errand, Enough Already and Provoked.Open the full entry.⁠[13]

In a radio interview he said Iran had to fully dismantle its nuclear program with zero enrichment and accept severe restrictions on its ballistic missile program; he said he did not oppose talks but argued for first neutralizing Iran’s ballistic and cruise missile capability and then negotiating its other demands. Host Steve Inskeep asked whether he worried about a wider regional war with many casualties.⁠[14]

On the radio program Guy Benson Show he discussed the ceasefire with Iran, including Iranian attacks across the region and possible tension between Israel and the United States as Israel retaliated.⁠[15]

In a video podcast interview he discussed Iran’s information warfare tactics, argued that the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding had fatal flaws and that the Islamic Republic faced internal collapse, criticized Trump’s negotiation strategy and advocated Western support for Iranian dissidents.⁠[16]

He is chief executive of FDD, focusing on Iran’s nuclear program and global threat network, and contributes to FDD’s China Program.⁠[2]

He is a member of the Vandenberg Coalition’s advisory board. Its biography states that he founded FDD’s Iran Program, co-founded FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power, Center on Military and Political Power and China Program, and has advised the Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden administrations and lawmakers of both parties.⁠[17]

Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Official website: https://www.fdd.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[2]

Vandenberg Coalition: Official website: https://vandenbergcoalition.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[17]