Iran

Policy Analysis on Iran

Iranian EFPs in the Gulf: An Emerging Strategic Risk

Tehran and its proxies have increased their efforts to provide armor-piercing explosive devices to Shiite cells in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and this game-changing escalation could pose even greater challenges if Riyadh takes further action in Syria.

Feb 23, 2016

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Michael Knights

Articles & Testimony

Russian Expectations for Post-Sanctions Iran

Joint support of Basher al-Assad's regime has highlighted Moscow and Tehran’s developing political alliance. In contrast, the level of economic cooperation between the two states has historically been very modest: 2014 trade between the two countries amounted to $1.68 billion and was just 0.2% of all Russian foreign trade. Yet

Feb 19, 2016

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Huseyn Panahov

Brief Analysis

Iran and Russia's Growing Defense Ties

The lifting of international sanctions and the region's vastly changing geopolitical environment have opened a window of opportunity for Tehran to buy potent arms from Russia and modernize its arsenal.

Feb 18, 2016

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Farzin Nadimi

Brief Analysis

Understanding Iran's Assembly of Experts Vote

The victors, winnowed from an especially large field, will serve until 2024 and therefore may play a role in choosing a new Supreme Leader.

Feb 16, 2016

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Patrick Schmidt

Articles & Testimony

Iran’s Last Chance to Join the International Community

Successive White House administrations have tried to weaken the Iranian mullahs’ grip on the country through war, sanctions, and diplomatic isolation. Each policy has failed eminently, and a considerable list of U.S. officials expects more of the same from President Obama’s new strategy of ‘veiled’ diplomacy, which attempts to foster

Feb 11, 2016

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Dani Tahrawi

Brief Analysis

Choosing Iran's Next Supreme Leader

While the Experts Assembly elected this month may be formally tasked with appointing the elderly Khamenei's successor, the real decision will likely be made by other power centers that could wind up controlling the new Supreme Leader.

Feb 4, 2016

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Mehdi Khalaji

Articles & Testimony

Preventing a Middle Eastern Gordian Knot

The situation in the Middle East is beginning to resemble the Balkans: either the Balkans in the early 1990s, before Washington woke up and played its role as security leader, or the Balkans before World War I, when no one woke up.

Feb 3, 2016

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James Jeffrey
Soner Cagaptay

Articles & Testimony

In the Regional Power Struggle, has Erbil Decided to Join the Sunni Bloc?

The security of the Kurdistan Region-Iraq (KRI) depends more on agreements between Erbil and Kurdistan’s neighbors than the KRI’s own security and intelligence capabilities. Whenever the regional powers surrounding the KRI have suspected that their interests are at risk, they have not hesitated to put the KRI’s security and stability

Jan 29, 2016

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Frzand Sherko

Articles & Testimony

The Truth About Sectarianism

Rather than postulating alternatives to centuries-old sectarian doctrines, Washington should focus on preventing exploitative actors from institutionalizing their violent vision through schools and bureaucracies.

Jan 25, 2016

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Jacob Olidort

Articles & Testimony

China's Middle East Tour

To ensure that Beijing's post-sanctions ambitions in the region do not include transferring dangerous nuclear and military technology to Iran, Washington and its allies need to set clear boundaries sooner rather than later.

Jan 24, 2016

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Michael Singh

Articles & Testimony

Not So Fast: Big Questions on Iran Are Still Unanswered

If the Obama administration sees the nuclear agreement as a strategic win capable of transforming Tehran's hostility, then America's ability to deter and contain Iranian challenges will be eroded.

Jan 22, 2016

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James Jeffrey

Brief Analysis

Iran's Parliamentary Elections: Inside the Candidate Approval Process

As in past elections, the Guardian Council seems poised to disqualify thousands of registered Majlis candidates, and its procedures for doing so are revealing.

Jan 22, 2016

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Patrick Schmidt

In-Depth Reports

Beyond Implementation Day: A Brief Statement on U.S. Policy Toward Iran

A bipartisan group of American diplomats, legislators, policymakers, and experts cites the need for vigilance in enforcing the nuclear deal and urges the administration to reject the idea of Iran as an ally in the anti-ISIL campaign.

Jan 21, 2016

Articles & Testimony

Prisoner Release

Although there were good reasons for delaying the ballistic missile sanctions against Iran, dropping charges against individuals linked to terror sponsorship only exacerbates doubts about the administration's commitment to enforcement.

Jan 20, 2016

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Matthew Levitt

Articles & Testimony

The Middle East After the JCPOA

The United States and its allies are more than up to the challenges posed by post-deal Iran, but they will need to focus on objectives rather than tactics, and engage in long-term planning rather than continuing their reactive, shorter-term approach.

Jan 20, 2016

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Michael Singh

A banner of Iran's former Supreme leader Khomeini

Video

Articles & Testimony

Addressing Threats to National Security: Iran

When the next President enters office, Iran will be a nuclear-weapons threshold state operating more than 5,000 centrifuges, with more than 14,000 additional ones at hand but deactivated—assuming the July 14 accord is implemented and survives its infancy. It will be openly engaged in research and development on advanced centrifuges

Jan 18, 2016

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Michael Singh

In-Depth Reports

The Islamic State's Territorial Methodology

In this new study, jihadi expert Aaron Y. Zelin provides a framework for understanding how the Islamic State goes from no control to full consolidation of control in a particular area. Three case studies show how this framework plays out ...

Jan 15, 2016

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Aaron Y. Zelin

Implementing the Iran Nuclear Deal: A Video Guide

What will the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement mean for Iran and the United States?

Jan 15, 2016

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Katherine Bauer
Matthew Levitt
Patrick Clawson

Brief Analysis

Iran Once Again Captures Western Sailors in the Persian Gulf

Washington and Tehran must act now to prevent further escalation between their respective naval forces.

Jan 14, 2016

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Farzin Nadimi

Articles & Testimony

What We Don't Know About Iran's Capture and Release of U.S. Sailors

Fundamental questions now center on how exactly the seizure occurred, how the sailors were treated, and whether Washington offered a quid pro quo for their release.

Jan 13, 2016

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Michael Singh

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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