Jay Solomon Joins The Washington Institute as Segal Distinguished Visiting Fellow

Journalist and author will focus on North Korea’s proliferation activities in the Middle East

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jay Solomon, former chief foreign affairs correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and author of The Iran Wars (Random House, 2016), has joined the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as the Segal Distinguished Visiting Fellow, the research organization announced today.

Solomon, whose career has included postings in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, in addition to Washington, will focus on North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile proliferation in the Middle East.

“Jay has broken stories on some of the most critical issues affecting U.S. foreign policy not only in the Middle East, but across the globe,” said Robert Satloff, Institute Executive Director and the Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy. “Today, with tensions ramping up with North Korea, understanding the full extent of Pyongyang’s proliferation of destabilizing technologies throughout the volatile Middle East is a story of strategic importance. We are pleased that Institute Trustees Sofia and Mike Segal of New York have agreed to allow us to name Jay’s fellowship in recognition of their longstanding commitment to our work.”

“I look forward to calling The Washington Institute home for the next few months as I delve into the complex and multifaceted relationship between Pyongyang and regimes in the region,” said Solomon. “I am excited to work with the Institute’s scholars and experts to shed light on this underappreciated aspect of the proliferation challenge in the Middle East.”

Solomon was previously based out of the Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau where he covered national security and U.S. foreign policy. He was the first journalist to report on secret meetings in Oman between American and Iranian officials, which were the precursor to the formal negotiations for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Additionally, Solomon covered U.S. diplomacy, efforts to combat ISIS and other counterterrorism issues, and nuclear weapons proliferation. The Wall Street Journal nominated him for three Pulitzer Prizes during his nearly two-decade career with the paper.

About the Washington Institute: The Washington Institute is an independent, nonpartisan research institution funded exclusively by U.S. citizens that seeks to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them. Drawing on the research of its fellows and the experience of its policy practitioners, the Institute promotes informed debate and scholarly research on U.S. policy in the region.

Media Contact: Ian Byrne, 202-452-0650, email.