Iran

The US-Iranian relationship has experienced significant challenges over the past forty years. The lack of diplomatic relations, changes in both the US and Iranian administrations, repeated US military interventions in the region as well as Iran’s support for militant groups and increasingly harsh rhetoric on both sides have further undermined chances for reconciliation. Through a balanced approach of engagement and containment, there is a need to push back against Iranian intervention while promoting US interests, regional conflict resolution, and the well-being of the Iranian people.

Alfoneh Quoted in Reuters on Iran Nuclear Scenarios

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

Alfoneh Quoted in Reuters on Iran Nuclear Scenarios

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

Alfoneh Quoted in Reuters on Iran Nuclear Scenarios

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

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Content

In the News

May 3, 2018

Alfoneh Quoted in Reuters on Iran Nuclear Scenarios

By Ali Alfoneh

Read the full article here

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

In the News

May 3, 2018

Pham Quoted in The National Interest on Iranian Activity Across the African Continent

By J. Peter Pham

Read the full article here

Africa Iran

In the News

May 3, 2018

Charai in The National Interest: Will War with Iran Be the Result of a Poorly Planned Trump Doctrine?

By Atlantic Council

Iran Middle East

New Atlanticist

May 3, 2018

Little Fires Everywhere: The Middle East After Trump’s Iran Deal Decision

By Richard LeBaron

The best-selling novel “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng provides an apt title for the next book in the long-running non-fiction history of Middle East conflicts—that which will come after US President Donald J. Trump moves to modify or nullify the Iran nuclear agreement. Those fires, not so little for those directly affected, are burning […]

Iran Middle East

In the News

May 3, 2018

Vajdich Quoted in The Atlantic on Ukraine’s Courtship of Trump

By Daniel Vajdich

Read the full article here

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

IranSource

May 2, 2018

Can Russia Serve As An Honest Broker Between Israel And Iran?

By Stephen Blank

Victory in war often brings with it unforeseen challenges and obligations.  Russia is now learning that to sustain its victory in Syria’s civil war it must play a role as an arbiter or honest broker between Iran and Israel lest their rivalry explodes into large-scale combat, engulfs the entire region, and undermines Russia’s newly-acquired position […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

May 2, 2018

Can Russia Serve As An Honest Broker Between Israel And Iran?

By Stephen Blank

Victory in war often brings with it unforeseen challenges and obligations.  Russia is now learning that to sustain its victory in Syria’s civil war it must play a role as an arbiter or honest broker between Iran and Israel lest their rivalry explodes into large-scale combat, engulfs the entire region, and undermines Russia’s newly-acquired position […]

Iran Israel

IranSource

May 1, 2018

Why Netanyahu’s revelations are significant

By Matthew Kroenig

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 30 provided a twenty-minute PowerPoint presentation of secret Iranian nuclear documents, acquired by Israeli intelligence. The information revealed will be unlikely to change many minds about the wisdom of the nuclear deal with Iran, but it is significant. It shows that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) […]

Iran Israel

New Atlanticist

May 1, 2018

Why Netanyahu’s revelations are significant

By Matthew Kroenig

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 30 provided a twenty-minute PowerPoint presentation of secret Iranian nuclear documents, acquired by Israeli intelligence. The information revealed will be unlikely to change many minds about the wisdom of the nuclear deal with Iran, but it is significant. It shows that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) […]

Iran Israel

IranSource

May 1, 2018

Sunnis in Iran: Part III; the Debate Continues

By Scheherazade Faramarzi

As a journalist and researcher, I very much appreciate a spirited debate about controversial issues. So I welcome the article written recently by a PhD graduate student about my issue brief on Iran’s Sunnis. I agree with the student’s concerns about the map, with which I was not totally comfortable. However, on the more important […]

Iran
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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
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