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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Dispute Over Helmand Water Spills into Iran Presidential Race

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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Dispute Over Helmand Water Spills into Iran Presidential Race

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

Dispute Over Helmand Water Spills into Iran Presidential Race

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

May 11, 2017

Dispute Over Helmand Water Spills into Iran Presidential Race

By Fatemeh Aman

During the second Iranian presidential debate on May 5, a candidate from the conservative camp raised an issue of great importance and political sensitivity: Iran’s disappearing water reserves.

IranSource

May 9, 2017

Iran Election Gives Rare Opening to Syria Intervention Critics

By Sina Azodi

Iran’s presidential election campaign has opened an opportunity for rare criticism of the country’s interventionist foreign policies.

IranSource

May 8, 2017

Hostile State-run Media Challenges Rouhani

By Sirous Amerian

Iran’s incumbent president, Hassan Rouhani, is not only running against 5 people who survived vetting by the Guardian Council. He is also contending with a hostile state-run broadcasting authority.

Iran Graph.png

IranSource

May 5, 2017

US-Iran People-to-People Ties: An Enduring and Mutually Beneficial History

By Barbara Slavin

US cultural diplomacy programming and other exchanges have a long history of helping to improve US relations with adversaries, from the old Soviet Union to China and the Islamic Republic of Iran. They are an inexpensive and often overlooked element of US foreign policy that brings benefits to Americans and people all over the world.

IranSource

Apr 28, 2017

Qalibaf and Raisi Run Populist Campaigns in Iran Elections

By Sina Azodi

As Iran’s May 19 presidential elections approach, incumbent President Hassan Rouhani is still favored to win. But he faces five opponents, including two conservatives who have the potential to pose a real challenge to him – Tehran mayor Mohamad-Baqer Qalibaf and Ibrahim Raisi, the custodian of Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad.

IranSource

Apr 21, 2017

Who Killed the ‘Spirit’ of the Iran Deal?

By Barbara Slavin

At a press conference on Thursday with the Italian Prime Minister, President Trump was asked by a Fox News reporter whether Iran had cheated on the landmark nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration and other world powers in 2015.

IranSource

Apr 19, 2017

Iranian American Groups Unite Against Trump Travel Ban

By Barbara Slavin

The Trump administration has done more to unify the Iranian American community than any of its predecessors.

IranSource

Apr 17, 2017

The Rise and Fall of Iran’s Khuzestan: A Calamity of International Significance

By Shirin Hakim and Kaveh Madani

In order to effectively address such multifaceted problems, we should shift our perspective towards the realization that environmental issues do not obey the confines of man-made borders and apply this understanding to seek pragmatic solutions.

Iran

IranSource

Apr 13, 2017

Approved or Disqualified, Ahmadinejad Shakes Up Iranian Politics

By Shahir Shahidsaless

The news shocked Iran: controversial former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registered to run again for president in the May 19 election. In front of tens of reporters, he visited the Interior Ministry on April 12 and filed the necessary documents. 

IranSource

Apr 10, 2017

Why Iran’s Upcoming Presidential Election is Hard to Predict

By Holly Dagres

If there’s one lesson from the 2016 U.S. presidential election, it’s that surprises are always possible—even if the polls say otherwise. On May 19th, Iranians will cast their ballots to elect the next president of Iran and it is useful to keep that lesson in mind.

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