Iran

Policy Analysis on Iran

A New Iran for a New Middle East: Aligning Discourse and Behavior

March 31, 2016 In the aftermath of the P5+1 agreement with Iran, the Arab Middle East has been processing two widely conflicting messages from Tehran. The first message is a soft appeal for friendship directed at the global community as a whole, which is built on promise and good intentions

Mar 31, 2016

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Hassan Mneimneh

Video

Brief Analysis

Putin's Middle East Policy: Causes and Consequences

Two experts discuss Russia's increasingly assertive regional policy and what it means for American and allied interests. Read a summary or watch video of the full event.

Mar 23, 2016

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Anna Borshchevskaya
Philip Gordon

Brief Analysis

Anomalies in Iran's Assembly of Experts Election

Seemingly inflated vote totals and jumbled candidate lists raise questions about the transparency of the government's official election results and turnout estimates.

Mar 22, 2016

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Patrick Schmidt

Articles & Testimony

Hezbollah's Growing Threat Against U.S. National Security Interests in the Middle East

In-depth testimony on the group's ongoing criminal, terrorist, and military activity in the region and beyond, including the implications of a potential cash influx from Iran as international sanctions are relaxed.

Mar 22, 2016

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Matthew Levitt

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivers public remarks.

Brief Analysis

Khamenei Intensifies His Anti-Americanism to Weaken President Rouhani

The Supreme Leader used his Nowruz address to launch a strong attack on the United States and make Rouhani the scapegoat for continued American pressure, which augurs poorly for U.S.-Iranian cooperation.

Mar 21, 2016

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Mehdi Khalaji

Articles & Testimony

The Costs of Lost U.S. Credibility

If the Obama administration is truly committed to containing Iran in the wake of the nuclear deal, it needs to understand how others in the region perceive its handling of Tehran's provocations.

Mar 21, 2016

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David Schenker

Brief Analysis

Mashhad Appointments Show Tightened Hardliner Grip

Sayyed Ebrahim Raisi, who is taking over a massive organization, has a repressive record dating back to the 1980s.

Mar 14, 2016

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Mehdi Khalaji

Brief Analysis

Iranian Casualties in Syria and the Strategic Logic of Intervention

Iran's battlefield losses have continued even after the drawdown of forces it surged into Syria late last year and the subsequent 'cessation of hostilities,' raising questions about Tehran's strategy and tactics in the war.

Mar 11, 2016

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Ali Alfoneh
Michael Eisenstadt

Articles & Testimony

Behind the GCC's Terrorist Designation of Hizbullah

The decision, which has been coming for some time, is a function of increased Hizbullah activities in the Gulf states and growing tensions with Iran.

Mar 10, 2016

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Matthew Levitt

Brief Analysis

What Does It Mean To Be a Reformist in Iran?

An unprecedented combination of regional turmoil, international pressure, and authoritarian machinations have coopted the reformist movement, leading many Iranians to view the current regime as Iran's only means of survival.

Mar 10, 2016

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Mehdi Khalaji

Salafism: Ideas, Recent History, Politics

Download this presentation (PDF)

Mar 9, 2016

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Jacob Olidort

Brief Analysis

Reformists Apply the 'Lesser Evil' Theory to Iran's Elections

With most of their favorite candidates disqualified, the reformists embraced politicians who were little different from the hardline incumbents, raising questions about their claims of victory.

Mar 9, 2016

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Mehdi Khalaji

Fikra Forum

Hezbollah Labeled Terrorist by GCC States – But What Do Their People Think?

March 8, 2016 In a remarkable if little-noticed development last week, all six GCC states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain – formally designated the Lebanese movement Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. This week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called this step “important and even amazing,” but

Mar 8, 2016

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David Pollock

Articles & Testimony

Why the Nuclear Deal Hasn't Softened Iran's Hard-Line Policies

As the election process and continued regional aggression have shown, the regime won't change what it's doing at home or abroad until the price for such behavior is made clear and unmistakable.

Mar 6, 2016

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Dennis Ross

Brief Analysis

Third Time the Charm for Reform in Iran?

Tehran has a history of showing hints of reform to hopeful citizens and Western observers only to snatch them away in the end.

Mar 4, 2016

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Patrick Clawson

Brief Analysis

The State(s) of Ideology in Iran

Iranian policymakers understand the failure of their effort to export the Islamic Revolution, and acknowledge the more feasible path to hegemony offered by geopolitics.

Feb 29, 2016

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Said Amir Arjomand

Brief Analysis

Iran's Long Road to Reintegrating With the World Financial System

The recent warning by the Financial Action Task Force to banks about dealings with Iran shows that the end of nuclear sanctions was only the start of a long process.

Feb 29, 2016

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Katherine Bauer

Brief Analysis

Iran's Melting Factions and Failing Institutions

Given the absence of sharp ideological differences and the growing irrelevance of old political categories, those who win office this week may have little actual influence on important issues such as succession, economics, or the next presidential election.

Feb 26, 2016

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Mehdi Khalaji

Articles & Testimony

Iran's Political Landscape -- and What Is Unlikely to Change with Friday's Elections

As in past votes, the candidates have been closely screened, the outcome is expected to uphold the legislature's largely conservative makeup, and the victors will remain largely dependent on military institutions.

Feb 25, 2016

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Mehdi Khalaji

Brief Analysis

Iran's Election Procedures

An in-depth look at the unique and often-controversial procedures that will govern Iran's latest elections.

Feb 24, 2016

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Patrick Schmidt

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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