Trump’s Iran Policy: Much Ado About Nothing

Dispatches
Jan 28, 2026

The expert conversation: Should Trump strike Iran? What happens next if he does?

By
Jason M. Brodsky and Danny Citrinowicz

As the USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in the Middle East, two experts debate the opportunities, uncertainties, and risks of a US strike on Iran.

Iran
Middle East

Trump’s Iran Policy: Much Ado About Nothing

Dispatches
Jan 23, 2026

What Trump could do next in Iran

By
Nate Swanson

As a US carrier strike group nears the Persian Gulf, what options does US President Donald Trump have to strike against the Iranian regime?

Iran
Middle East

Trump’s Iran Policy: Much Ado About Nothing

MENASource
Jan 14, 2026

Voices from Iran: As rejection of government reaches all-time high, Iranians also wary of foreign intervention

By
Tara Kangarlou

If Trump is serious about peace, stability, and a lasting legacy, the path forward does not run through air strikes or transactional deals with a failing theocracy.

Civil Society
Crisis Management

Programs

Middle East Programs

Working with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

EXPLORE THE Atlantic Council’s Middle East PROGRAMs

Content

IranSource

Feb 13, 2019

Trump’s Iran Policy: Much Ado About Nothing

By Pooya Dayanim

The Trump administration’s policy of containing and weakening the Islamic Republic of Iran may appear to be going well to causal observers of Iranian affairs, and there is some evidence to support such a view. The United States has withdrawn from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action […]

Iran

In the News

Feb 13, 2019

Wechsler Quoted in Associated Press on Iran Problem at Mideast Talks in Poland

By William F. Wechsler

Read the full article here

Iran

MENASource

Feb 13, 2019

Concerning Iran, the United States should go back to ‘speaking softly and carrying a big stick’

By Borzou Daragahi

Top officials of the administration of Donald J. Trump love to talk tough on Iran. Last year Trump warned in an all-capitals tweet that Iran “would suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before” if it threatened the US.  

Iran

IranSource

Feb 13, 2019

Moral Courage Needed for US to Engage Iran

By Thomas Buonomo

In his January 10 speech in Cairo, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described America as a “force for good in the Middle East.” “We need to acknowledge that truth, because if we don’t, we make bad choices [that will] have consequences for nations, for millions of people,” he said. “In falsely seeing ourselves as a force […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2019

What to expect from the US-Polish summit on the Middle East

By David A. Wemer

"The Trump administration waffled about the aims of the conference. But the truth is this conference is very much about Iran and a symbolic act to show that the world is united again Tehran—particularly Arab countries and Israel.

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion Iran

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2019

The US-Iranian relationship: let’s try engagement

By David A. Wemer

“I simply do not see the conditions for another revolution.” He saw “no evidence that there is a social base in Iran that wants to see a radical change," said Mohsen Milani, executive director of the University of South Florida’s Center for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies.

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion Iran

Past events

Feb 12, 2019

How Iran Has Changed in Forty Years and What the Future Portends

By Barbara Slavin

Iran forty years after its Islamic revolution is facing a grave economic crisis and growing popular discontent. It continues to commit acts that deepen its isolation even as it benefits from the mistakes of its adversaries. US sanctions are more punishing than anticipated but will probably not cause Iran to alter policies of greatest concern […]

Iran

IranSource

Feb 12, 2019

Poland Summit Strives for Stability in the Middle East

By Avi Melamed

The Trump administration accurately identified the Iranian threat and has, on some significant issues, acted accordingly—including the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the application of increasingly tough sanctions on Iran, as well as organizing the Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East in […]

Iran Israel

In the News

Feb 11, 2019

Fried Quoted in Middle East Eye on Warsaw Middle East Summit

By Daniel Fried

Read the full article here

Iran

In the News

Feb 10, 2019

Slavin Joins i24News to Discuss the Iran Policy of the US on 40th Year of Islamic Revolution

By Barbara Slavin

Watch the full discussion here

Iran
Load More

Experts

Fellow

Carmiel Arbit

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Civil Society Extremism

Fellow

Colin Brooks

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Iran Middle East

Fellow

Hagar Hajjar Chemali

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Economic Statecraft Initiative GeoEconomics Center

Economy & Business Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

Fellow

Danny Citrinowicz  

Nonresident Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Cybersecurity

Fellow

Ariel Cohen

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Eurasia Center

Central Asia Politics & Diplomacy

Fellow

Jonathan Fulton

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

China Chinese
Load More

Events

Online Event Tue, March 3, 2026 • 10:00 am ET

POSTPONED—Holding enablers accountable: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s role in Russia’s drone war
Civil Society Conflict Crisis Management Iran
Public Event Wed, March 4, 2026 • 9:30 am ET

War with Iran and its geopolitical implications
Conflict Iran Middle East National Security