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Policy Analysis on Iran

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Addicted to Oil:

The State of the Union and the Middle East

In his January 31 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush declared that America was "addicted to oil" and urged spending on technologies "to break [that] addiction." Noting that oil is often imported from unstable parts of the world, he set a goal of replacing more than 75

Simon Henderson

In-Depth Reports

The Iranian Moment

Although the election of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came as a shock to many observers, it actually represented the final step in a gradual shift within the country's political mainstream. The conservatives now control all levers of power in the Islamic Republic, with opposing factions effectively neutralized. And while the

Frederic Tellier

Articles & Testimony

Deter and Contain:

Dealing with a Nuclear Iran

Testimony before the House Committee on Armed Services Conclusions Efforts to deter and contain a nuclear Iran would likely encounter significant challenges. The nature of the Islamic Republic, regional politics, and Iran’s involvement in terrorism make establishing a stable deterrent relationship with a nuclear Iran risky and uncertain. The experience

Michael Eisenstadt

America and the Middle East, circa 2006

On January 11, 2006, James F. Hoge Jr. and Stuart Rothenberg addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Mr. Hoge is the Peter G. Peterson chair at the Council on Foreign Relations and editor of its flagship journal, Foreign Affairs. Mr. Rothenberg is editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political

Articles & Testimony

Inaction Would Enable This 'Young Stalin' to Grow Bigger

Iran's move yesterday to restart work at the controversial Natanz uranium enrichment plant is extremely rash. Even the normally urbane Mohammed El Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said "the world was running out of patience" with Iran. Tehran, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, appears

Simon Henderson

Iran's Air Forces:

Struggling to Maintain Readiness

Recent events, including the launch of Iran's first space imaging satellite, the announcement that Russia is selling Iran twenty-nine Tor-M1 (SA-15 Gauntlet) mobile short-range surface-to-air missile systems for $700 million, and the crash of an air force C-130 transport plane into an apartment block in Tehran, have focused attention on

Farzin Nadimi

The Elephant in the Gulf:

Arab States and Iran's Nuclear Program

At the annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), held in Abu Dhabi on December 18 and 19, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman avoided confronting Iran directly on its suspected nuclear weapons program. Instead, these member states confronted Israel

Simon Henderson

What Else Can Be Done about Iran's Nuclear Program?

On November 18, 2005, Michael Eisenstadt, Patrick Clawson, and Henry Sokolski discussed policy options regarding Iran's nuclear program in light of the November 24 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the publication of Getting Ready for a Nuclear Ready Iran (U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute)

Michael Eisenstadt
Patrick Clawson

Tehran's Renewed War on Culture

After a period of some tolerance under former president Mohammad Khatami, Iran is now experiencing a cultural clampdown. President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad is implementing the hardest of hardline ideological tendencies in the cultural arena, consistent with his belief that his administration should prepare the country for the reappearance of the hidden

Mehdi Khalaji

Countries of Particular Concern:

Religious Freedom and the Middle East

On November 8, the State Department released the International Religious Freedom Report, its annual survey of religious freedom across the world ( read the report online). Several of the designated "countries of particular concern" (CPCs) are in the Middle East: Iran, Sudan, and embarrassingly, in light of longstanding close diplomatic

Simon Henderson

Supreme Leader Khamenei's Responsibility for Iran's Present Situation

Mohsen Sazegara, recently a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute and now at Yale University, posted on several Persian-language websites (including gooya.com) a long open letter to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Hossein Khamenei. Below are translated extracts from that letter. Dear Mr. Khamenei: Let go of these strange thoughts

Mohsen Sazegara

Articles & Testimony

Slow and Steady, Bush's Mideast Race

The Bush administration has many problems to keep it preoccupied in its remaining three years, including the challenges of post-Katrina reconstruction and a massive budget deficit. Plus the president and the Republicans in Congress have been weighed down by allegations of misconduct. So it is hardly surprising that some worry

Patrick Clawson

In-Depth Reports

Continuity and Chaos

Exploring continuities and changes, this book provides the historical backdrop crucial to understanding how Iranian pride and sense of victimization combine to make its politics contentious and potentially dangerous. From the struggle between the Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini to the current tension between the reformers and traditionalists, a central issue

Patrick Clawson

Creating Effective International Pressure for Human Rights in Iran

On November 2, the UN General Assembly's Third Committee is due to consider a Canadian resolution condemning Iran for human rights violations. A similar resolution was approved by the General Assembly in 2004 by a vote of 71-54 with fifty-five abstentions. Iran's human rights violations have recently worsened, and the

Mehdi Khalaji

A Bedouin on a Camel?

Saudi Foreign Policy and the Insurgency in Iraq

Iraq's interior minister, Bayan Jabr, lashed out at Saudi diplomacy while speaking to journalists in Amman on October 2. Referring to Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, Jabr said Iraq would not be lectured by "some Bedouin riding a camel." Broadening his remarks to the Saudi ruling family, the

Simon Henderson

Articles & Testimony

The Worst Option

"No one can want the Iranian leadership to gain possession of atomic weapons," German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder opined earlier this week. "But let's take the military option off the table. We have seen it doesn't work." Actually, the option least likely to work is the one most actively considered: economic

Iranian Media Reactions to the Nuclear Impasse

Iran's hardline establishment often declares that all Iranian citizens are united in their determination to see Iran exercise its "right" to nuclear power and "self-sufficiency" -- that is, operation of the complete fuel cycle. But are all Iranians really so enthused by the national nuclear program and heedless of international

Challenges Facing Iran's New Government

Iran's bold August 7 decision to resume uranium conversion -- previously frozen under an agreement with Britain, France, and Germany -- came only four days after new president Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad took office. This confrontational step suggests that the new administration may take strong actions to advance its hardline agenda. At

Mehdi Khalaji
Mohsen Sazegara

The Three-Way Game:

Iran, Iraq, and the United States

The July 16–18 visit to Tehran by Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim Jafari and ten other members of his council of ministers has been hailed by some as the beginning of a new era in Iran-Iraq relations. In fact, the pattern of near-term relations was set during Iraqi defense minister Saadoun

Michael Knights

The New Iranian Government:

Resurrecting Past Errors

On June 29, 2005, Iran’s Guardian Council confirmed Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad as winner of the June 24 presidential election, as dictated by Iran’s constitution and in accordance with the wishes of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He will take office on August 4. The fact that Ahmadinezhad won the election would have

Mohsen Sazegara

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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

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

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

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