ایران

In Marine Corps University's expanded and revised 2015 edition of The Strategic Culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran, first published in 2011, author Michael Eisenstadt discusses Iran’s unique approach to statecraft, strategy, and the use of force, focusing on the following core elements: Policy in the theocratic Islamic Republic

Regardless of whether the nuclear deal succeeds or fails, Iranian society is undergoing substantial changes that make the Islamic Republic's longer-term future difficult to predict.

Russia has greatly complicated an already-fraught situation by picking a fight with Syria's majority Sunni rebels and tripping into other regional players' spheres of influence.

The Iranian regime's anti-Western regional policy has become much more important to its identity than Islamic ideology, so confronting Tehran's "unreasonable rationality" is essential.

A safe haven along Syria's border with Turkey could involve several partners and send a clear message to Russia and Iran.

The Iranian president has taken steps to limit his vulnerability to a plodding recovery, but over time a failure of sanctions relief to bring about dramatic economic improvements could harm his political outlook.

For all the praise (and relief) Moscow's deployment is eliciting in Tehran, continued Russian involvement will likely cut into Iran's influence.

The release of a special-committee report to the Majlis will be seized on by hardliners, who will continue to voice their opposition even in the probable event implementation goes forward.

U.S. policy in Syria is failing because the Obama administration is prioritizing the urgent (rolling back ISIS) over the truly important (preventing Iran and Russia from rearranging Middle East security to their benefit).