Iran

Policy Analysis on Iran

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

Brief Analysis

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

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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