Iran Can’t Fulfill Its Hopes of a Shia Corridor Without Iraq

Fast Thinking
Oct 2, 2024

What is Iran thinking now?

By
Atlantic Council

Tehran launched nearly two hundred missiles at Israel on Tuesday. Atlantic Council experts consider the ways that the barrage—which was largely ineffectual—offers a window into Iranian thinking.

Conflict
Iran

Iran Can’t Fulfill Its Hopes of a Shia Corridor Without Iraq

IranSource
Oct 2, 2024

It’s time Iran’s artists be considered as human rights defenders

By
Sanjay Sethi and Johanna Bankston

International recognition of the acute risk creatives face in Iran is necessary to ensure their vital role in advocating for human rights continues.

Civil Society
Iran

Iran Can’t Fulfill Its Hopes of a Shia Corridor Without Iraq

New Atlanticist
Sep 28, 2024

Experts react: Hassan Nasrallah is dead. What’s next for Hezbollah, Israel, and Iran?

By
Atlantic Council experts

On Saturday, Hezbollah confirmed that its leader had been killed in an Israeli air strike. Atlantic Council experts share their insights on what might come next for the already war-torn region.

Iran
Israel

In-depth research & reports

Report

Oct 8, 2024

A bipartisan Iran strategy for the next US administration—and the next two decades

As tensions spike in the Middle East, how should the next US president approach Iran and its network of proxies including Hezbollah and Hamas? With a strategy that can be maintained for decades, by administrations of either party. A bipartisan, expert working group lays out the details.

Iran
Middle East

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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.

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The latest from IranSource

IranSource

Jan 6, 2025

Blinded Iranian activist Elaheh Tavakolian: ‘We lost our eyes on this path. Let us not lose sight of our goal’

By
Holly Dagres

Holly Dagres sits down with blinded Iranian activist Elahe Tavakolian to share her story and discuss the situation in Iran and what the West needs to do.

Civil Society
Freedom and Prosperity


IranSource

Nov 20, 2024

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

By
Danny Citrinowicz  

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.

Arms Control
Defense Policy


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

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Content

IranSource

Oct 11, 2018

Iran Can’t Fulfill Its Hopes of a Shia Corridor Without Iraq

By Avi Melamed

Since the Iranian regime seized power in 1979, its goal has been for Iran to become a regional power and to restore the Shias as the rulers of the Muslim world. A cornerstone of its strategy is to build and control a land corridor stretching from Iran to the Mediterranean Sea. To extend its power […]

Iran Iraq

IranSource

Oct 10, 2018

Sanctions or Liquidity—Which One Is More Dangerous for Iran’s Economy?

By Hoorozan

The Iranian rial was traded at 150,000 against the US dollar on October 2, indicating a 12 percent appreciation in just one day. Bonbast, a website which tracks free market rates in Iran, stopped posting rates for the day, while state news agencies reported that the free market rial value kept appreciating as high as […]

Iran

EconoGraphics

Oct 9, 2018

JCPOA in Peril – EU SPV to the Rescue?

By Ole Moehr

The European Union’s (EU) foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, recently announced that the EU will set-up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) “to facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and allow European companies to continue to trade with Iran.” In response, our visiting senior fellow, Samantha Sultoon, argued that this SPV will not provide a reliable path around US sanctions, and may undermine the effectiveness of US and EU sanctions in the long-run. This edition of the EconoGraphic explains how the SPV would work in practice and outlines why this mechanism is unlikely to offer Iran enough economic upside to keep the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) alive.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

IranSource

Oct 5, 2018

How Iran and the Gulf Arab States Can Start a Dialogue Again

By Hussein Ibish

It’s hard to overstate the regional impact of the rivalry between Iran and several Gulf Arab states—most notably Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—bordering in recent years on enmity. While these countries haven’t come close to direct warfare, tensions have impacted many regional conflicts in the Middle East including in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, […]

International Organizations Iran

IranSource

Oct 4, 2018

The Hidden Message of Iran’s Syria Strikes: A View From Israel

By Shemuel Meir

An unusual strategic event took place this week in the Middle East. For the second time in over a year, Iran fired ballistic missiles on targets in Syria, a country that borders Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who never misses an opportunity to respond in the strongest terms—usually within hours—to any Iranian testing of […]

Iran Israel

In the News

Oct 4, 2018

Slavin Quoted by Washington Post on New Sanctions

By Barbara Slavin

Read the full article here.

Iran

New Atlanticist

Oct 3, 2018

So much for US-Iran amity

By Ashish Kumar Sen

“Theater is part of diplomacy... In this case, we have a largely symbolic US action regarding a mainly obsolete treaty in response to another largely symbolic Iranian action regarding a generally ineffectual court,” said William F. Wechsler, interim director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.“

Iran Politics & Diplomacy

IranSource

Oct 3, 2018

China: Iran’s Lifeline to Overcome Oil Sanctions

By Brendon Hong

If the relationship between Iran and China is not severed, US sanctions on the Tehran will never be fully effective, and the Trump administration’s dream of forcing a new deal will never come to fruition.

China Iran

IranSource

Oct 1, 2018

Netanyahu’s UNGA Accusations Give Iranians a Rare Good Laugh

By Holly Dagres

“I really, really think someone set him up,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister said in an initial reaction to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 27. In an interview with state media, Abbas Araghchi and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is seated next to Araghchi, are […]

Iran Israel

IranSource

Oct 1, 2018

Iran-Israel Animus Exacerbates the US-Iran Divide

By Barbara Slavin

NEW YORK — Iran’s mellifluous foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, was in characteristic form Saturday afternoon as he sparred with a small group of journalists and US-Iran hands and fulminated against the policies of the Trump administration. Iran would survive the latest barrage of US sanctions, Zarif insisted, noting President Donald Trump’s relative isolation at […]

International Organizations Iran
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Brian O’Toole

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Jonathan Panikoff

Director, Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

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

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

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Amanda J. Rothschild

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GeoStrategy Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Iran

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Nilofar Sakhi

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Thomas S. Warrick

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

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William F. Wechsler

Senior Director, Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

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