Iran

Policy Analysis on Iran

Iran Threatens Aerial Freedom of Navigation in the Gulf

By firing on a U.S. aircraft, Iran has upped the ante in the Gulf and set a bad precedent for international airspace rights worldwide.

Dec 5, 2012

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Michael Eisenstadt
Michael Knights

Articles & Testimony

Through Khamenei's Eyes

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Unique Take on the Uprisings in the Arab World

The Iranian nuclear program and the Assad regime share a commonality: both aim to undermine Western interests in the Middle East. For this reason, as much as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei values the nuclear program as a pillar of the Islamic Republic's political identity, his pro-Assad stance has taken its own place in Iran's regional policy.

Nov 15, 2012

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Mehdi Khalaji

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivers public remarks.

Brief Analysis

Khamenei's Strategy for Obama's Second Term

If the Supreme Leader decides to get serious about nuclear negotiations, he will likely take a more public role in the process than before, if only to maintain control of Iran's increasingly turbulent domestic politics.

Nov 14, 2012

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Mehdi Khalaji

Articles & Testimony

The Changing Terrain: An Interim Assessment of the Arab Spring and Its Policy Implications

Nearly two years after the onset of the Arab Spring, four leaders have been toppled, a bloody civil war is raging in Syria with no end in sight, and the status quo in other Arab states is fragile. Where does all of this lead? In this paper, Michael Herzog assesses

Nov 13, 2012

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Michael Herzog

Video

Brief Analysis

Middle East Policy Planning for a Second Obama Administration

Memo from a Fictional NSC Staffer

On November 8, 2012, Washington Institute executive director Robert Satloff addressed a Policy Forum along with Dennis Ross and Jim Jeffrey. The following is an edited version of Dr. Satloff's comments; the full event can be viewed in the above video. If President Obama tasked a courageous National Security Council

Nov 9, 2012

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Robert Satloff

Video

Brief Analysis

After the Election: Implications for U.S. Middle East Policy

How will those in the region -- allies, adversaries, and everyone in between -- react to the election results? Watch online as veteran policy practitioners and scholars explore the priorities and challenges of the second Obama administration.

Nov 8, 2012

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Dennis Ross
James Jeffrey
Robert Satloff

Articles & Testimony

The Dream Team

Amid talk of personnel shakeups and foreign policy retooling, a former Obama advisor suggests how the president should choose his top aides and cabinet secretaries.

Nov 8, 2012

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Dennis Ross

Video

The New Administration: Impact on the Middle East

Satloff: Obama Administration to Test Iran with 'Grand Deal'

Nov 6, 2012

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Robert Satloff

Articles & Testimony

Shiite Clergy's Silence toward Syrian Crisis

In times of conflict, being impartial does not necessarily translate into neutrality; silence in such circumstances may signify taking a side. This is indeed the Shi’ite clergy’s narrative about the violence in Syria.

Nov 5, 2012

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Mehdi Khalaji

Articles & Testimony

Why Iran Wants to Attack the United States

The Islamic Republic's terror plots may look bumbling today, but what about tomorrow?

Oct 29, 2012

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Matthew Levitt

Articles & Testimony

Iran and the Next U.S. President

With 2013 looming as a decisive year in Iran's nuclear efforts, the next administration will likely accelerate both sanctions and the diplomatic process to create greater clarity before resorting to force.

Oct 24, 2012

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Dennis Ross

Brief Analysis

Nuclear Iran: Technical Issues Overshadowing Negotiations

Although both Washington and Tehran deny reports that they have agreed to bilateral nuclear negotiations, the rumors will prompt fresh debate about what concessions the United States can or should make.

Oct 23, 2012

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Simon Henderson
Olli Heinonen

Brief Analysis

Countering the Iranian Missile Threat in the Middle East

A mix of both defensive and offensive capabilities is needed in the Persian Gulf to counter the substantial Iranian rocket and missile threat.

Oct 18, 2012

Articles & Testimony

Hizbullah Narco-Terrorism: A Growing Cross-Border Threat

Hizbullah has significantly expanded and institutionalized its drug trafficking enterprises to the point where the group may soon raise more money through cross-border illicit narcotics activities than all its other funding streams combined.

Oct 15, 2012

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Matthew Levitt

Articles & Testimony

Will Iran Weather the Economic Storm?

The depreciation of the rial is unlikely to change Iran's foreign-policy calculations.

Oct 15, 2012

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Patrick Clawson

Articles & Testimony

Beyond the Red Line

If the Iranian nuclear program is not stopped by sanctions, military threats, other means of pressure or diplomacy, Israel will return to the point of decision beginning in the spring -- and accompanied by Netanyahu's public commitment.

Oct 15, 2012

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Michael Herzog

Articles & Testimony

Defining Our Red Lines

As Iran makes continued progress toward a nuclear weapons capability, defining our red lines takes on increasing importance.

Oct 11, 2012

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Michael Singh

Articles & Testimony

A Red Line Iran Would Take Seriously

Recently, red lines both figurative and -- since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's prop-assisted speech to the United Nations two weeks ago -- literal have come to dominate the Iran policy discussion. While Netanyahu was as explicit as possible in his delineation of Israel's red line regarding Iran's nuclear status

Oct 7, 2012

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Michael Singh

Articles & Testimony

Is Ahmadinejad the Scapegoat for Iran's Economy?

The Ahmadinejad era has taught Supreme Leader Khamenei to never again let a politician use elections and the office of the president to establish independent authority.

Oct 4, 2012

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Mehdi Khalaji

Articles & Testimony

Is Iran's Currency Crisis Evidence That Sanctions Are Working?

The regime is relatively sheltered from the current crisis, so Washington should be careful not to count on the sanctions alone to resolve the nuclear impasse.

Oct 3, 2012

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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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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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