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Iran

Policy Analysis on Iran

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Muhandis company launch event leadership attendeees
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
How to Use Militia Spotlight: Profiles
The profiles are a repository of institutional memory on the various armed groups, facade groups, and social organizations associated with Iraqi militias, to be used as concise reminders of how these entities are connected.
Mar 24, 2023
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  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, gestures while speaking
Brief Analysis
Khamenei Attempts to Restore Optimism and Normality in Nowruz Speeches
Despite facing unprecedented protests and other deep challenges, the Supreme Leader delivered upbeat New Year’s messages and argued that simply controlling runaway inflation would solve most of Iran’s ills.
Mar 23, 2023
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  • Omer Carmi
Articles & Testimony
Orbital Fluctuations Among the Iran-Supported Militias in Iraq
Astronomical models provide a surprisingly helpful illustration of how Iran-backed armed groups wield power in the MENA region.
Mar 22, 2023
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  • Michael Knights
Muhandis company launch event leadership attendeees
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
The Muhandis Company: Iraq’s Khatam al-Anbia
Similar to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Iraqi "resistance" groups have long sought a company with preferential access to lucrative state contracts, and the Sudani government is finally providing them after years of opposition—on the Saudi border no less.
Mar 21, 2023
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  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
An Iraqi member of a Shia PMF militia
Articles & Testimony
Remaking Iraq: How Iranian-Backed Militias Captured the Country
The slow-rolling regime change focused on capturing U.S.-supported institutions and turning them against U.S. interests, highlighting the threat that motivated, well-funded groups pose to developing democracies.
Mar 20, 2023
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  • Crispin Smith
  • Michael Knights
Wang Yi, director of China's Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Minister of State and national security adviser of Saudi Arabia Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban shake hands in Beijing in March 2023 - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
The Saudi-Iran Deal Reflects a New Global Reality
Leaders in the Middle East feel more threatened by the competition between China and the United States than by the individual powers themselves, so Washington needs to adapt accordingly.
Mar 16, 2023
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  • Michael Singh
Saudi Deputy Prime Minister Prince Abdullah greets Iranian President Khatami in Jeddah in May 1999 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Clarifying the Status of Previous Iran-Saudi Agreements
The steps taken to actually implement Riyadh and Tehran’s new normalization accord bear close watching given the uncertainties surrounding their 1998 and 2001 agreements.
Mar 16, 2023
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  • Faris Almaari
Newspapers at a shop in Tehran display headlines about the China-brokered Iran-Saudi deal in March 2023 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
What Beijing’s Iran-Saudi Deal Means—and What It Doesn’t
China brokered the agreement, but this does not signal a new Beijing-led order in the Middle East—in fact, it could make regional tensions worse.
Mar 15, 2023
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  • Henry Rome
  • Grant Rumley
Crown Prince Muhammad and President Xi walking in Riyadh.
Articles & Testimony
With Saudi-Iran Diplomacy, Is China Pushing the US Aside in the Middle East?
The surprise development may have more to do with resolving the Yemen war than rebuking the Biden administration, but the full implications will take time to register.
Mar 13, 2023
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  • Simon Henderson
Protesters wave flags and placards in front of the Knesset to demonstrate their opposition to judicial reforms proposed by the coalition government of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu - source: Reuters
Video
Brief Analysis
The National Security Implications of Israel's Judicial Debate
A panel of former senior Israeli officials discusses how the convulsive domestic debate may affect vital issues related to military preparedness, Iranian nuclear advancement, Palestinian terrorism, and more.
Mar 8, 2023
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  • David Makovsky
  • Shimrit Meir
  • Yaakov Amidror
  • Uzi Dayan
  • Zohar Palti
Russian President Vladimi Putin tours an exhibit of Tsarist weapons on display in the UAE in 2007 - source: Reuteurs
Articles & Testimony
Russia Uses Middle Eastern Ties to Mitigate Isolation
By taking largely ambivalent stances on the Ukraine war, states in the region have helped ease the effects of international sanctions against Moscow.
Mar 7, 2023
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  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Articles & Testimony
It Is Time for a New Hezbollah Policy
Growing domestic blowback presents a strategic opportunity to alter the balance of power in Lebanon, shrink Iran’s long-range influence, and promote true political diversity within the Shia community.
Mar 7, 2023
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  • Hanin Ghaddar
Brief Analysis
Iran’s Currency Collapse May Not Lead to Diplomatic Desperation
The rial keeps plummeting, but policymakers should not assume this will spur Tehran to scale back its nuclear negotiating demands.
Mar 7, 2023
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  • Henry Rome
USAF ground crew directs a B-1 Lancer bomber
Articles & Testimony
Iran Needs to Believe America’s Threat
Four steps could help check Tehran’s progress toward a nuclear bomb and avoid the regional risks of a unilateral Israeli attack.
Mar 5, 2023
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  • Dennis Ross
Articles & Testimony
The Treacherous Triangle of Syria, Iran, and Russia
If the Assad regime's two main allies emerge victorious in Syria and Ukraine, U.S. adversaries will likely conclude that the pros of challenging Washington ultimately outweigh the negatives.
Spring 2023
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  • Anna Borshchevskaya
The Taliban flag on display in Kabul, Afghanistan
Brief Analysis
Iran Formalizes Ties with the Taliban
The two governments have been engaging for months on standard diplomatic issues, but the new embassy handover may prove more worrisome given that they are both rogue regimes capable of coordinating against U.S. interests in the region.
Mar 3, 2023
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  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Mousavi
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Opposition in the Iranian Diaspora and among Iranian Reformers: The Case of Mousavi
As an Iranian opposition coalesces in the diaspora, challenges loom on the horizon. How the diaspora approaches reformists inside Iran calling for a new constitution will help demonstrate just how cohesive Iran’s disparate opposition groups can become.
Mar 3, 2023
◆
  • Majid Nikouei
Articles & Testimony
Is Iran Ready to Build a Nuclear Bomb or Not?
The Biden administration’s mixed messages about the significance of new enrichment revelations will make it more difficult to decide next steps.
Mar 1, 2023
◆
  • Simon Henderson
Brief Analysis
Yemen Peace Accord Appears Increasingly Possible
A deal would leave the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in control but allow the Saudis to disengage from a costly and intractable war, potentially opening up further diplomatic possibilities.
Feb 28, 2023
◆
  • Simon Henderson
U.S. flag, nuclear symbol, Iranian flag
In-Depth Reports
Iran’s Nuclear Endgame Warrants a Change in U.S. Strategy
The regime's latest step on uranium enrichment should compel the United States and its partners to snap back sanctions, bolster military deterrence, and plan for potential crisis scenarios.
Feb 28, 2023
◆
  • Michael Singh

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Supported by the

Viterbi Program on Iran and U.S. Policy

Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran poses the most serious and urgent set of security challenges to the United States and its allies in the greater Middle East. Since the Khomeini revolution in 1979, Iran has sought to export its radical ideology through the use of terrorism, subversion, and support to ideological fellow-travelers throughout the Muslim world.

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Featured experts

Patrick Clawson
Patrick Clawson
Patrick Clawson is Morningstar senior fellow and director of research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Mehdi Khalaji
Mehdi Khalaji
Mehdi Khalaji, a Qom-trained Shiite theologian, is the Libitzky Family Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Henry Rome
Henry Rome
Henry Rome is a Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, specializing in Iran sanctions, economic, and nuclear issues.
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