Iran

Policy Analysis on Iran

What Congress's Iran Letter Signals About Obama's Diplomacy

To gain skeptics' support, the president needs to make the substantive case for his Iran policy and be willing to take their concerns on board.

Mar 12, 2015

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Michael Singh

A banner of Iran's former Supreme leader Khomeini

Articles & Testimony

Iran's Next Supreme Leader and the Nuclear Deal

In all likelihood, Khamenei's potentially imminent successor will be even more of a hardliner, and he could renege on a deal just as easily as the next U.S. president.

Mar 10, 2015

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Mehdi Khalaji

Brief Analysis

The Most Overlooked Line in Netanyahu's Address

One of the prime minister's remarks suggests that a more fundamental dispute may be brewing between U.S. and Israeli intelligence over Washington's claim that an Iran deal will provide sufficient warning of any nuclear breakout.

Mar 6, 2015

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Robert Satloff

Video

Netanyahu Speech Reveals U.S., Israel Gaps on Iran and the Middle East

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s March 3 speech to a joint session of Congress revealed two significant gaps in the U.S. and Israeli approaches to the Middle East, according to Dr. Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. First, Netanyahu would prioritize the fight against

Mar 4, 2015

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Robert Satloff

Articles & Testimony

Netanyahu Has Reasons To Be Worried

Washington has left too many questions unanswered in a possible nuclear deal with Iran.

Mar 4, 2015

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Dennis Ross

Articles & Testimony

Netanyahu's Three Objections to a U.S. Deal with Iran

Whatever one thinks of the circumstances of his address, Netanyahu raised concrete concerns that should not simply be dismissed.

Mar 4, 2015

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Michael Singh

Brief Analysis

Iran's Provocative Naval Exercise: Motives and Implications

Blowing up a mock U.S. carrier was likely the Supreme Leader's way of prodding the depressed oil market and reaffirming his role as the true arbiter of Iran's nuclear future.

Mar 3, 2015

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Farzin Nadimi

Brief Analysis

Southern Syria: A New Front for Israel?

While strikes against ISIS are capturing the headlines, the United States and its international partners risk overlooking the potential strategic significance of developments in Syria's south.

Mar 2, 2015

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Michael Herzog

Brief Analysis

Dealing with a Bad Iranian Nuclear Agreement

Whether by advocating careful congressional action or simply waiting until a new administration is in place, those who question the president's apparent Iran strategy will have several means of correcting course once an agreement is signed.

Mar 2, 2015

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James Jeffrey

Articles & Testimony

The U.S.-Israel Divide on Iran

With the proper legislative and diplomatic steps, the Obama administration could reassure Congress and Israel while strengthening the terms of an Iran deal to ensure better long-term deterrence.

Feb 20, 2015

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Dennis Ross

Brief Analysis

Prominent Saudi Columnist Notes Arab Support for Israeli Strike on Hezbollah

Greater Sunni acceptance of Israel as a regional power, however grudging and conditional, may give Washington more room to pursue longstanding peace goals.

Feb 18, 2015

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Marc Sievers

Video

Brief Analysis

The Fight Against ISIS: Shiite Militias and the Coalition Effort

A longtime expert on military affairs, a researcher on Shiite militias, and a retired U.S. Army colonel discuss optimal partners for defeating ISIS and the heavy risks associated with allowing Iran-associated actors to expand their influence.

Feb 11, 2015

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Michael Knights
Phillip Smyth
P. J. Dermer

Articles & Testimony

Resetting the U.S.-Israel Alliance

The two countries have worked to insulate their innumerable daily interactions from inevitable bumps in the diplomatic relationship, but the current regional turmoil calls for a more clear-eyed acknowledgement of their shared interests, especially regarding Iran.

Feb 5, 2015

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Michael Eisenstadt

Brief Analysis

Nuclear Nuances of Saudi-Pakistan Meeting

Tuesday's meeting in Riyadh between King Salman and Pakistan's top military commander will revive speculation of a secret nuclear agreement to counter any Iranian nuclear threat.

Feb 3, 2015

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Simon Henderson

Video

Brief Analysis

Reports from across the Green Line: Politics and Policy in Israel and the West Bank

On January 29, Ghaith al-Omari, Dennis Ross, and David Makovsky addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Ambassador Ross, the Institute's counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow, recently returned from a regional trip that included meetings with high-level Israeli and Palestinian officials. Omari is a senior fellow at the

Feb 3, 2015

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Ghaith al-Omari
Dennis Ross

Maps & Graphics

In-Depth Reports

The Shiite Jihad in Syria and Its Regional Effects

This study documents the highly organized geostrategic effort by Iran to use a global network of Shiite proxy groups to salvage the Assad regime's crumbling military position in the early years of the Syrian Civil War.

Feb 2, 2015

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Phillip Smyth

Brief Analysis

Yemen's Zaidis: A Window for Iranian Influence

The receptiveness that many Yemeni Shiite leaders have shown toward Iran's foreign policy and religious practice give Tehran a ready means to expand its reach in Yemen.

Feb 2, 2015

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Mehdi Khalaji

Articles & Testimony

The First Step Toward an Iran Deal: No New Nuclear Concessions

To build pressure toward a viable agreement, Washington and its negotiating partners should refrain from further extensions of the JPOA, warn Iran that sanctions will be reimposed if no deal is reached by a date certain, and counter destabilizing Iranian regional activities.

Jan 30, 2015

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Michael Singh

Brief Analysis

A Nuclear Deal with Iran: The Impact on Oil and Natural Gas Trends

Most immediately, lifted sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industry could spur tensions with other energy producers, such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

Jan 27, 2015

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Brenda Shaffer

Articles & Testimony

Aligning with Rouhani Is Not the Answer

Given the uncertainties surrounding the Iranian regime's internal struggle, Washington should not pin its hopes on President Rouhani's camp, whose regional strategy appears to converge with that of the hardliners.

Jan 27, 2015

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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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