Iran

Policy Analysis on Iran

Perceiving the Shia Dimension of Terrorism

By providing more effective governance and core services, Middle Eastern officials can prevent defeated terrorist groups from reemerging, but such efforts are largely futile without sustained U.S. and European military support.

Feb 28, 2017

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Hanin Ghaddar

Brief Analysis

Iran Keeps a Lid on Its Latest 'Great Prophet' Exercise

The restrained nature of this month's military demonstration could signal a combination of dynamics in Tehran: a reaction to the Trump administration's arrival, a shift in the regime's threat assessments, or continued internal political maneuvering.

Feb 28, 2017

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Farzin Nadimi

Articles & Testimony

Escalation in Yemen Risks Famine, Collapse, Iranian Entrapment

Washington should not lend its support to any proposal that will make the Yemeni people long-term hostages to an Iran-enabled quagmire.

Feb 23, 2017

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Eric Pelofsky

Brief Analysis

Hezbollah Losing Its Luster Under Soleimani

Many Hezbollah fighters believe their Iranian supervisor in Syria views them as easily replaceable Arab cannon fodder, and the resultant tension is generating disillusionment about Tehran's claims of pan-Shiite unity.

Feb 22, 2017

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Hanin Ghaddar

Brief Analysis

Middle Eastern Reactions to the U.S. Travel Ban

As the Trump administration prepares to revise its controversial entry restrictions, a sampling of quotes from officials around the region indicates that certain provisions will be a hard sell abroad.

Feb 22, 2017

Articles & Testimony

Is America No Longer the Middle East's Greatest Power?

Despite the recent challenges to Washington's regional supremacy, one irreducible reality is clear: the United States is still the only actor capable of forging partnerships that advance not just parochial, short-term interests, but the broader security, stability and prosperity needed to prevent further collapse.

Feb 16, 2017

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Richard Fontaine
Michael Singh

Articles & Testimony

Iran on Notice

A former Treasury official outlines the various steps Washington can take to support its stated goal of curbing provocative Iranian behavior such as ballistic missile tests, military interventionism, illicit financing, and terror sponsorship.

Feb 16, 2017

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Katherine Bauer

Fikra Forum

Saudi and Iranian Rapprochement in the Face of Russia and Turkey

It is strange to hear talk of an alliance between Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose competition is notorious. The two states, who have clashed in multiple countries, now find themselves in a new political situation which may force them to work together. At the very least they may have to

Feb 15, 2017

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Baraa Sabri

Articles & Testimony

Why Trump and Netanyahu Might Keep Iran Nuclear Deal After All

Despite the prime minister's distaste for the deal, he will likely ask Washington to enforce it to the hilt instead of shredding it -- something the Trump White House seems ready to do given its actions toward Iran thus far.

Feb 15, 2017

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Matthew Levitt
Katherine Bauer
Patrick Clawson

Articles & Testimony

Memo to Trump: Iraq Is Too Big to Fail

Actions like the travel ban on Iraqis could have the unintended effect of derailing the U.S. alliance with Baghdad -- an outcome that would benefit Iran, the Islamic State, and no one else.

Feb 13, 2017

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Michael Knights

In-Depth Reports

Reinforcing the Role of Sanctions in Restraining Iran

Even while the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is in place, the Trump administration could bring significant pressure to bear on Iran. In this Policy Note, Institute fellows Katherine Bauer, Patrick Clawson, and Matthew Levitt look at the role of sanctions in restraining Iran's regional aggression and disrupting its global-terrorism

Feb 13, 2017

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Katherine Bauer
Patrick Clawson
Matthew Levitt

Video

Brief Analysis

After the Ayatollahs: The Middle East Post-Khamenei

Two leading experts on clerical succession in Iran and Iraq discuss how the passing of Ayatollah Sistani and Supreme Leader Khamenei would affect American interests across the Middle East.

Feb 10, 2017

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Ali Mamouri
Suzanne Maloney

Brief Analysis

The Trump-Netanyahu Meeting in the Context of Emerging U.S. Middle East Policy

The two leaders will need to figure out where Israel's pressing concerns about Iran fit in with the Trump administration's emerging regional policy, particularly its emphasis on quickly destroying the Islamic State.

Feb 9, 2017

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Robert Satloff

In-Depth Reports

The Future of Leadership in the Shiite Community

Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, a former Iranian judiciary chief who holds a prominent position in the Assembly of Experts, now has two paths to leadership of the Shiite community. The first is as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, now seventy-seven; the second is to eventually take the place

Feb 7, 2017

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Mehdi Khalaji

Articles & Testimony

The Plan to Defeat ISIS: Key Decisions and Considerations

Washington should pursue a 'day after' scenario that keeps the United States in the region, maintains its new (YPG) and old (Turkish and Iraqi) relationships, pushes back Iranian ambitions, and 'manages' an inevitable Russian presence.

Feb 7, 2017

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James Jeffrey

Articles & Testimony

Can Trump Break Up the Russian-Iranian Alliance?

One of the president's biggest early foreign policy tests will be navigating the aftermath of the nuclear deal, which brought the Islamic Republic even further into Russia's orbit.

Feb 6, 2017

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Anna Borshchevskaya

Brief Analysis

Iran's Warming Relations with the PKK Could Destabilize the KRG

Their emerging confluence of interests will only exacerbate the internal problems caused by factionalism and failed governance in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Feb 6, 2017

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Bilal Wahab

Brief Analysis

Iran's Latest Missile Test: Scenarios and Implications for the New Administration

Regardless of how the details surrounding Sunday's launch shake out, it was an unhelpful move at a time when the Trump administration is determining its policy toward Iran's missile program and broader regional behavior.

Feb 3, 2017

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Farzin Nadimi

Articles & Testimony

Cyber: Iran's Weapon of Choice

In the past decade, Tehran’s cyber toolkit has evolved from a low-tech means of lashing out at its enemies to a central pillar of its national security concept.

Jan 29, 2017

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Michael Eisenstadt

Articles & Testimony

Rethinking American Military Intervention in the Middle East

An in-depth look at how the United States can reverse its policy missteps and subpar performance in various regional conflicts, in large part by correcting its inadequate understanding of the operational environment.

Jan 26, 2017

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Michael Eisenstadt

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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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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