She joined the BBC in 1976 and worked there until March 1979 when she returned to Iran. In October 1979 she was employed as a lecturer at the Faculty of Politics and subsequently the department of Politics and Law of Tehran University, where she worked until 1986. She returned to Britain and re-joined the BBC as a freelancer until 1994 while working elsewhere in the public sector. From 1998-2012 Sharan was the Chief Correspondent in London for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She served as an elected member of the Council of the City of Westminster from 2001-2010 and served the City as Councillor for two consecutive terms. Sharan studied Political Science and received her MA in Political Behaviour from the University of Essex. She joined the Legatum Institute as a Senior Adviser on 'The Future of Iran' programme in 2012 and remained as such until 2015 when she became a Fellow of the Institute.