Regionally-based Arabs and Iranian scholars here explore the preoccupation of the economic, political, educational and strategist present of Arab-Iranian relationships in the context of the historical and cultural past. The issues covered include: historical ties and the current state of mutual awareness between Arabs and Iranians; the impact of the political and journalistic rhetoric of each side on their relationships; the image of Arabs and Iranians in each others' schoolbooks; economic ties and the prospects for their future development; the status of Arab and Iranian women; border and territorial disputes between Arab states and Iran; the position of Arab states and Iran on the Kurdish question; the Palestine question in Arab-Iranian relations; a comparative study of civil society in Iran and in Arab countries; and Arab-Iranian ties in the context of international relations.

Khair El-Din Haseeb is the founding Director of the Centre of Arab Unity Studies in Beirut. From 1976 to 1984, he served as Chief of the Natural Resources Science and Technology Division of the United Nations' Economic Commission of Western Asia. Previous to that he was Professor of Economics at the University of Baghdad and he served as Governor and Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of Iraq from 1963 to 1965. He is the author of numerous books and articles in both Arabic and English, on subjects such as Arab unity, Arab nationalism and the future of the Arab world in the wake of the Arab spring.