إيران

The past week has seen speculation by Defense Secretary William Perry tying Iran to the recent bombing of U.S. military personnel in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and a report in Time linking Iran to the downing of TWA 800. How might the U.S. respond if these reports are true? A New

Contrary to initial analyses of the April elections, it is now clear that conservative ideologues_not the reputedly more pro-Western supporters of President Rafsanjani_are the dominant force in the Iranian Majlis. That result, plus early Iranian presidential politicking, makes prospects for U.S.-Iranian dialogue as unlikely as ever and could foreshadow an

The following is a transcript of Secretary of State Warren Christopher's keynote address to The Washington Institute's 2006 Soref Symposium. It is a real pleasure to speak again to the Washington Institute. Under the leadership of Mike Stein, Barbi Weinberg, and Rob Satloff, the Institute has continued to excel as

In recent weeks, President Clinton has taken unilateral action against Iran (imposing a ban on U.S. private investment and trade) and has attempted bilateral diplomacy (with Russia) to curtail Tehran's efforts to acquire nuclear power and technology. Because neither of these two initiatives can by themselves succeed in "containing" Iran

This week's announcement of the cancellation of Iran's participation in the Azerbaijan oil consortium -- partly as a result of U.S. pressure on both Azerbaijan and U.S. oil companies -- is the latest result of U.S. efforts to strengthen the "containment" of Iran's Islamic regime. So far, Iran has responded

While Iran's recent nuclear deal with Russia has attracted world attention, Tehran has in the past few months bolstered its military presence on the strategic Persian Gulf island of Abu Musa, raising new questions about its intentions and heightening concerns about Iranian policy in the Gulf. Iran's Naval Buildup Since

In 1989, following a costly eight-year war with Iraq, Iran initiated a major military buildup intended to transform it into a regional power and rebuild its ravaged armed forces. Iran's buildup, coupled with indications of increased activism in its foreign policy -- including efforts to undermine the Arab-Israeli peace process

Executive Summary The government of Islamic Iran has long been split between "radicals" and "moderates" on matters of economic and social policy. The principal changes instituted by the moderates after they came to power with the election of Hachemi Rafsanjani as President in 1989 have been a greater reliance on

Of all the states in the Middle East, Iran's policy has been the most confusing and mysterious. Yet a close examination shows that Tehran has followed a consistent, predictable, attitude toward the Gulf crisis. From Tehran's standpoint, the current situation is the obverse of that prevailing during the eight-year Iran-Iraq