Iran

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.

What the Cuban Missile Crisis Teaches Us About Iran

Dispatches
Mar 6, 2026

How would a Kurdish offensive change the war in Iran?

By
Atlantic Council experts

Our experts explain the goals of the various Kurdish groups the United States is reportedly backing for an attack against Iran and how their involvement could impact the wider war.

Conflict
Defense Policy

What the Cuban Missile Crisis Teaches Us About Iran

Dispatches
Mar 6, 2026

Washington’s limited levers to shape a post-Khamenei Iran

By
Nate Swanson, Ingrid Small

The United States and its allies do have some options to coax change that might result in a more Western-leaning Tehran.

Conflict
Iran

What the Cuban Missile Crisis Teaches Us About Iran

MENASource
Mar 3, 2026

Trump wants Iranians to ‘take back their country’ from the regime. Can they?

By
Alan Pino

To succeed in overthrowing the Iranian regime, an uprising would likely require a unifying leader, an effective organization, and the support of whatever remains of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions

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.

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Content

New Atlanticist

Oct 29, 2012

What the Cuban Missile Crisis Teaches Us About Iran

By Frederick Kempe

Bob Schieffer of CBS News struck the right note when he opened this week’s presidential debate on foreign policy by reminding viewers it was “the 50th anniversary of the night that President Kennedy told the world that the Soviet Union had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, perhaps the closest we’ve ever come to nuclear war.” […]

Cuba Iran

Event Recap

Oct 12, 2012

The Human Cost of Military Strikes Against Iran’s Nuclear Facilities

By Jason Harmala

On October 12, the Atlantic Council’s Iran Task Force and the Middle East Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center hosted a discussion about the consequences for the Iranian people of threatened attacks on Iran’s nuclear installations.

Iran

New Atlanticist

Oct 4, 2012

Iran Sanctions Unprecedented and Crippling; But Are They Effective?

By Ronak Desai

In a move that will further tighten the web of sanctions currently in place against Iran, the Obama administration has designated the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) “an agent or affiliate” of Iran’s notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Treasury Department’s designation potentially exposes foreign institutions conducting business with the NIOC and its subsidiaries to […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Oct 1, 2012

The US Needs to Discuss Implications of Iran War

By Fallon Hagel Hamilton Pickering and Zinni

War with Iran is not inevitable, but U.S. national security would be seriously threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran. Particularly given the recent speeches at the U.N. General Assembly, military action is being discussed intensely. Public discussion of military action, however, is often reduced to rhetoric and partisan politics. We propose a nonpartisan, reasoned debate about […]

Iran National Security

New Atlanticist

Sep 25, 2012

Bipartisan Insanity on the Iran Question

By James Joyner

In the midst of a boilerplate speech to the UN General Assembly on the virtues of democracy and freedom, President Obama tossed in some rhetoric on Iran that’s either empty or dangerous. Neither option is a good one.

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Sep 18, 2012

United States on a Path to Nowhere

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

The round-the-clock killing of U.S. military advisers by Afghan soldiers they are training coupled with some $200 million worth of jet fighters and attack helicopters destroyed in a heavily fortified allied base in Afghanistan by Taliban guerrillas disguised in U.S. military uniforms are the latest reminders that 11 years of fighting have strengthened rather than […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 18, 2012

US-Mideast Policy Is Isolating America, Not Iran

By Sarwar Kashmeri

Two thirds of the U.N.’s countries recently signed a communique expressing support for Iran’s nuclear energy program and rejecting, what they termed, the United States’ unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic. A flashing red light that signals the American policy aimed at isolating Iran in order to curb its nuclear ambitions appears instead to have […]

International Organizations Iran

New Atlanticist

Jun 29, 2012

Rising Iraqi Oil Output Greases Iran Sanctions

By Barbara Slavin

Iraq’s once-battered oil sector is further eclipsing production in Iran, relieving pressure on world oil markets and facilitating the imposition of draconian new sanctions on Iran.

Iran

New Atlanticist

Jun 27, 2012

US Hardens Stance In Iran Nuclear Talks

By Laura Rozen and Barbara Slavin

Iran came to talks in Moscow last week (June 18-19) prepared to discuss stopping enriching uranium to 20% but refused two other conditions that could have led to a partial agreement in the nuclear standoff. Briefings by diplomats whose countries took part in the talks portrayed the meetings as a “dialogue of the deaf,” with […]

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Jun 25, 2012

Why Iran Shouldn’t Get the Bomb: The Limits of IR Theory

By Robert Manning

In an essay creating shock and awe amongst the chattering class, Kenneth Waltz, one of the nation’s most prominent International Relations (IR) scholars and the doyen of the “realist” school tries to make the case “Why Iran Should Get the Bomb” in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs. While in some respects, this provocation is […]

Iran
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Experts

Fellow

Simin Kargar

Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Cybersecurity Disinformation

Fellow

Mark N. Katz

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Geopolitics & Energy Security Iran

Fellow

Mark Klamberg

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

English European Union

Staff

Matthew Kroenig

Vice President, Geostrategy and Fellows and Senior Director, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Defense Policy

Staff

Andrew L. Peek

Director

Adrienne Arsht National Security Resilience Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Europe & Eurasia Intelligence

Fellow

Keir Lieber

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Defense Policy
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