All in-depth research & reports

Issue Brief

Jun 26, 2018

Environmental and wildlife degradation in Iran

By David Laylin

Environmental degradation has become a major issue in Iran. It is a source of economic hardship, ill health, social disruption, and recent political protests. Climate change has been a factor in this deterioration but so has mismanagement of the country’s once ample natural resources. Our latest issue brief, Environmental and Wildlife Degradation in Iran, authored […]

Energy & Environment Iran

Issue Brief

Jun 26, 2018

Environmental and wildlife degradation in Iran

By David Laylin

Environmental degradation has become a major issue in Iran. It is a source of economic hardship, ill health, social disruption, and recent political protests.

Energy & Environment Iran

Issue Brief

May 7, 2018

The United States-Lebanese armed forces partnership: Challenges, risks, and rewards

By Nicholas Blanford

Over the past year, many have questioned the extent to which the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are an arm of the Lebanese state or beholden to Hezbollah. Pointing to the LAF’s complicated relationship with Hezbollah, congressional and other voices in the United States have criticized US security assistance to Lebanon and threatened to withhold assistance. […]

Iran Middle East

Issue Brief

Apr 18, 2018

The new Turkey: Making sense of Turkish decision-making

By Aaron Stein

This new issue brief by Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Dr. Aaron Stein explores the challenges facing the United States and Europe as Turkish politicians use foreign policy as a tool for populist political gain. To better understand the relationship between Turkish policy-making and public opinion, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center worked with Metropoll, a […]

NATO Politics & Diplomacy

Issue Brief

Apr 18, 2018

The new Turkey: Making sense of Turkish decision-making

By Aaron Stein

This new issue brief by Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Dr. Aaron Stein explores the challenges facing the United States and Europe as Turkish politicians use foreign policy as a tool for populist political gain.

NATO Politics & Diplomacy

Issue Brief

Apr 6, 2018

Iran’s Sunnis resist extremism, but for how long?

By Scheherezade Faramarzi

A predominantly Shia nation, the Islamic Republic of Iran has a substantial Sunni population that receives little attention compared to the country’s other minorities. Last year’s attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in the capital Tehran have raised fears that disgruntled Iranian Sunnis, who have until now largely escaped extremist influences, […]

Extremism Iran

Issue Brief

Apr 6, 2018

Iran’s Sunnis resist extremism, but for how long?

By Scheherezade Faramarzi

Veteran journalist Scheherezade Faramarzi lays bare Iran’s religious makeup, the history of the Sunni population, the influence of regional actors like Saudi Arabia, and efforts by the Iranian government to support Iranian Sunni leaders who advocate peaceful coexistence with Tehran.

Extremism Iran

Issue Brief

Dec 4, 2017

Iran in Iraq

By Kenneth M. Pollack

Geographic proximity and shared religion, specifically Shia Islam, give Iran deep influence in Iraq, as shown in a new Atlantic Council issue brief entitled  Iran in Iraq, by American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Kenneth M. Pollack. Despite advantages in geography and demography, Pollack argues that Iranian influence in Iraq is not insurmountable. The United States should […]

Iran Iraq

Issue Brief

Nov 20, 2017

Partners or competitors? The future of the Iran-Russia power tandem in the Middle East

By John Herbst

Ambassador John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, writes in a new issue brief entitled Partners or Competitors? The Future of the Iran-Russia Power Tandem in the Middle East that Russia and Iran are currently drawn into partnership over common regional interests and anti-American policies and sentiments despite centuries of historical […]

Iran Politics & Diplomacy

Issue Brief

Nov 9, 2017

Iran’s bottom line in Afghanistan

By Alex Vatanka

Due to proximity and historical ties, no other country is as well placed as Iran to play a dominant role in Afghan society, as Middle East Institute senior fellow Alex Vatanka shows in his new paper, Iran’s Bottom Line in Afghanistan. However, Tehran is focused on short-term tactical gains at the expense of a sustainable, […]

Afghanistan Iran