Covering topics ranging from security and politics to business and society, IranSource draws on written analysis and multimedia content to inform a broader public conversation about Iran from an array of angles and perspectives.

It aims to identify the challenges, opportunities, and policy conundrums facing the US-Iran relationship and present a range of options to address them.

Editor: Holly Dagres

The views expressed in IranSource are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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Gold Trader’s Sensational Case Pushes Iran and Turkey Closer

IranSource
Nov 20, 2024

2025 will be a decisive year for Iran’s nuclear program

Diplomatic deadlines and regional factors will force Iran to decide soon whether to strike a deal or seek a nuclear weapon. Either choice will have major ripple effects.

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Gold Trader’s Sensational Case Pushes Iran and Turkey Closer

IranSource
Nov 20, 2024

How to wrestle with an ayatollah 

By
Khosro Sayeh Isfahani

If one looks closely, the ancient Persian sport of wrestling might have answers to understanding how to contain Iran

Civil Society
Freedom and Prosperity

Gold Trader’s Sensational Case Pushes Iran and Turkey Closer

IranSource
Nov 1, 2024

How the death of Abdul Malik al-Houthi could impact the Houthis and Iran

By
Emily Milliken and Caitlin Miller Hollingsworth

While Abdul Malik al-Houthi is still alive today, his death in the near term would impact the Houthi’s ability to operate and widen a leadership vacuum within Iran’s Resistance Axis.

Conflict
Iran

Content

IranSource

Dec 5, 2017

Gold Trader’s Sensational Case Pushes Iran and Turkey Closer

By Shahir Shahidsaless

Already-strained relations between Turkey and the US took a further negative turn on Nov. 30 when Reza Zarrab, a controversial Turkish-Iranian gold trader, told a New York court that Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan was personally involved in an international money-laundering scheme that allowed Iran to break US sanctions. Zarrab testified that starting in 2012 he helped Iran […]

IranSource

Dec 4, 2017

Ahmadinejad is Up to His Old Tricks But They No Longer Impress Anyone

By Sirous Amerian

The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is again in the forefront of Iranian social media. An egomaniac who cannot bare to fall out of media attention, Ahmadinejad has lately declared war on the Iranian judiciary, which has brought court cases against his top presidential aides, Esfandiyar Rahim Mashaei and Hamid Baghaei, on charges of […]

IranSource

Nov 20, 2017

Iranians Respond to Earthquake but Government Falls Short

By Mehrnaz Samimi

The evening of November 12th, 2017 was tragic for the people of the Western province of Kermanshah, which has a Kurdish population famous for its warm hospitality. A powerful earthquake of 7.3 magnitude shook the province, destroying thousands of homes, killing at least 500 people and injuring nearly 10,000 more. The Iranian governmentsays the quake also caused some […]

IranSource

Nov 15, 2017

Trump Administration Misses Opportunities to Show Concern for Iranian People

By Barbara Slavin

While opposing many policies of the Iranian government, Trump administration officials have frequently claimed to care for the Iranian people. But such sentiments are belied by the feeble US official response to a massive earthquake that has killed more than 500 Iranians in a remote area on the Iran-Iraq border.

IranSource

Nov 15, 2017

Trump, Sanctions Hamper Iran’s Renewable Energy Quest

By Masoud Mostajabi

Doubts cast by US President Donald J. Trump about the future of the nuclear deal with Iran, US sanctions that have restricted access to foreign financing, and a tight budget have hampered the Islamic Republic’s ability to secure significant investments in renewable energy. International banks have been reluctant to finance new energy projects in Iran as a […]

IranSource

Nov 13, 2017

Saudi Arabia and Iran May Be Headed Toward War

By Alireza Nader

Saudi Arabia and Iran could be headed toward a major war. Recent power struggles in Riyadh, the shooting down of a Yemeni missile over the Saudi capital, and rising Saudi alarm over Iran’s strengthening position in the Middle East have created a potentially deadly brew of instability.

IranSource

Nov 3, 2017

Trump Should Open Direct Channel to Iran to Free US Hostages

By Barbara Slavin

Relatives of an imprisoned Iranian-American father and son are urging the Trump administration to open a direct channel to the Iranian government to discuss trading the detainees for Iranians imprisoned for sanctions violations.

IranSource

Nov 1, 2017

Former Head of Israel Atomic Energy Agency Urges US to Stay in the Iran Deal

By Barbara Slavin

As Congress debates what if anything to do about the Iran nuclear deal, a growing number of experts – including the former head of Israel’s atomic energy agency — is urging legislators to make sure that the United States continues to comply with the accord. “The bottom line is the agreement is good for Israel,” […]

IranSource

Oct 30, 2017

Building on the JCPOA with a WMD Free Zone in the Middle East

By Mehran Haghirian

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is arguably the most comprehensive and verifiable non-proliferation agreement since the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It not only ensures against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, but also recognizes the right to a peaceful nuclear program. As more countries, including members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) develop nuclear […]

IranSource

Oct 25, 2017

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Fire Back at Trump

By Shahir Shahidsaless

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the most powerful security and military organization in Iran, recently presented its analysis of Trump’s new strategy toward Iran as laid out in his October 13 speech de-certifying the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

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