Ali Ezzatyar is a lawyer and US diplomat. Prior to joining the Foreign Service and the US Agency for International Development, he practiced law at a number of prominent international firms and served as Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Development in the Middle East at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. His articles on the Middle East have been featured in publications such as the Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor; he has appeared as an analyst on broadcasts such as BBC World, Al Jazeera, and NPR, among others.