Iran

Policy Analysis on Iran

Iranian presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian poses in front of a poster of Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei prior to Iran's 2024 presidential elections - source: Reuters

Pragmatists Open a Window in Tehran—But for How Long?

Regime officials and the Supreme Leader himself have signaled a willingness to make unprecedented concessions, but taking advantage of this opening will require careful U.S. messaging on counterterrorism, regional deterrence, and human rights.

May 7, 2025

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Hamdi Malik

Photo of an oil facility in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Articles & Testimony

Iraqi Oil and the Iran Threat Network

Terrorist organizations are exploiting Iraq’s energy sector to the tune of billions of dollars per year, raising the need for more intensive efforts to trace how revenues are routed into oil “voucher” programs and other diversion schemes.

April 2025

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Michael Knights

An Iranian soldier wearing an IRGC uniform salutes in front of an Iranin flag - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Ending Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program Is Not Enough

Tehran cannot enjoy the economic benefits it seeks while under sanction, but some sanctions will necessarily remain in place as long as it continues sponsoring terrorism, leaving negotiators with little choice but to address issues beyond the nuclear program.

Apr 25, 2025

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Matthew Levitt

Flight deck crew issues commands to a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet prior to launch from the carrier USS Harry S. Truman - source: Department of Defense

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Is the Houthi Threat a Checkmate for U.S. Military Logistics?

The Iran-backed militia’s disruption of Red Sea shipping is threatening America’s ability to rapidly deploy and supply its forces in the Middle East and beyond, but a combination of logistical workarounds, military measures, and diplomatic efforts may be the answer.

Apr 21, 2025

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James E. Shepard

Brief Analysis

What a U.S.-Saudi Nuclear “Pathway” Might Mean for the Iran Talks

Rather than clearing a route to normalization with Israel, a Saudi nuclear agreement with Washington may be key to addressing Iran’s military nuclear potential and wider proliferation concerns in the region.

Apr 16, 2025

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Simon Henderson

Iranian women display their national flag at a soccer game - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Trump Shouldn’t Forget the Iranian People

As nuclear talks proceed, the president should recall his past acknowledgement that respect for human rights and democracy is “an integral component of U.S. national security.”

Apr 12, 2025

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Holly Dagres
Azadeh Pourzand
Kelly Shannon

Articles & Testimony

The Narrow Path to a New Middle East: A Regional Order to Contain Iran for Good

Contrary to decades of conventional thinking, it turned out that an exceptional military campaign could damage the regime's regional standing—but now the United States must lead a similarly extraordinary civilian effort to make that change permanent.

Apr 2, 2025

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Dana Stroul

Articles & Testimony

A Return to Maximum Pressure: Comprehensively Countering the Iranian Regime’s Malign Activities

The Washington Institute’s director of research testifies on the Trump administration's best means of combining diplomatic, military, and congressional pressure to permanently block Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or reconstituting its damaged regional threat network.

Apr 1, 2025

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Dana Stroul

The U.S. Navy aircraft carriers Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower on joint operations in the CENTCOM region - source: Department of Defense

Brief Analysis

Two Carriers in the Middle East: Implications for the Houthis, Iran, and U.S. Force Readiness

The decision to order an additional carrier strike group to the region comes amid the Trump administration’s new campaign against the Houthis and public warnings to Iran, though it could affect U.S. force readiness worldwide.

Mar 27, 2025

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Elizabeth Dent

Flags of Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Turkey on display in Riyadh

Articles & Testimony

Lessons from the Middle East’s Unfinished War

Definitive conclusions about the post-October 7 environment remain elusive, but it is not too early to draw lessons and consider the problems and opportunities that may arise from the recent upheaval in 2025.

Mar 25, 2025

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Michael Singh

US and Israeli military planes participate in the 2023 Juniper Oak joint exercise - source: IDF

Video

Brief Analysis

Bombing Iran's Nuclear Program: Implications of Preventive Action

Washington Institute experts discuss what challenges must be addressed in negotiating a new nuclear deal or, failing that, planning a military campaign to degrade or destroy the program.

Mar 25, 2025

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Dana Stroul
Richard Nephew
Michael Eisenstadt
Holly Dagres

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi greets Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi in Beijing in March 2025 - source: Reuters

Brief Analysis

Leveraging the Gaps in Russia and China’s Complex Relations with Iran

Far from signaling a strong trilateral alliance, their history of often transactional cooperation reveals strategic gaps that Washington can leverage to help curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Mar 24, 2025

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Richard Nephew

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves from the steps of his official plan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - source: Department of State

Articles & Testimony

How to Match Ends and Means in the Middle East

To resolve crises like the Gaza war and Iran’s drive toward nuclear breakout, the Trump administration will need to rediscover the practice of statecraft and marshal the necessary allied help.

Mar 19, 2025

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Dennis Ross

Brief Analysis

Are Tunisia and Iran Really Growing Closer?

Although their diplomatic and economic overtures are on the rise, bilateral ties remain largely superficial for now, indicating a shared anti-Western posture rather than risky strategic cooperation.

Mar 17, 2025

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Sabina Henneberg

Brief Analysis

Iraq’s PMF Law Is No Substitute for Real Security Reform

The Trump administration should not be duped by the supposed “reforms” that militia leaders are considering in parliament, which threaten to turn the PMF into another Iranian “Revolutionary Guard” and keep U.S.-designated terrorists in key posts.

Mar 17, 2025

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Hamdi Malik
Michael Knights

An F35A fighter on a night-training mission at dusk

Maps & Graphics

In-Depth Reports

Attacking Iran's Nuclear Program:

The Complex Calculus of Preventive Action

Should a negotiated deal prove elusive, policymakers will need to consider how to define a successful strike, Iran’s potential responses, and whether a strategy of prevention can be sustained.

Mar 11, 2025

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Michael Eisenstadt

Articles & Testimony

Iran Could Lose Iraq

Iraqi militias and politicians alike have been walking on eggshells with Washington, suggesting that the “axis of resistance” is vulnerable to tough diplomatic and intelligence action.

Mar 11, 2025

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Michael Knights
Hamdi Malik

Iranians shop in a Tehran market ahead of Nowruz celelbrations in 2024 - source: Reuters

Brief Analysis

Iran’s Sour National Mood Could Complicate U.S. Engagement

When it comes to fixing serious problems with the economy, energy, and other sectors, the reformists have been just as ineffective as the hardliners, eroding any legitimacy they might claim to reopen nuclear negotiations with Washington.

Mar 6, 2025

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Patrick Clawson

Articles & Testimony

Make Iraq Independent of Iranian Energy

By letting previous waivers expire, the United States can help Baghdad establish other suppliers and stand on its own feet for the first time.

Mar 5, 2025

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Michael Knights

Articles & Testimony

Here’s Why the U.S. Is No Longer the World’s Only Superpower

Mismatching objectives and means has repeatedly produced failure and undermined consensus, but Washington no longer has the luxury of bad statecraft on pressing issues like Iran’s nuclear program.

Mar 4, 2025

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Dennis Ross

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

Farzin Nadimi

Farzin Nadimi, a Senior Fellow with The Washington Institute, is a Washington-based analyst specializing in the security and defense affairs of Iran and the Persian Gulf region.

Patrick Clawson

Patrick Clawson is the Morningstar Senior Fellow and Research Counselor at The Washington Institute.

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Policy Analysis on Iran

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Policy Analysis on Iran

Viterbi Program on Iran and U.S. Policy

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