Freed Wilson scholar back to work

While she was imprisoned for 105 days in Tehran, Haleh Esfandiari blocked out thoughts of her home and family because “thinking of them would have led to despair.”

The Iranian-American scholar and Potomac resident recalled her plight upon her return to work Monday at the Woodrow Wilson Center, where she is director of the center’s Middle East program. Esfandiari told journalists she dreamed of her first staff meeting back at the think tank after her release from jail and declined to take time off.