Iran

While Iran and its European interlocutors (along with Russia and China) can be expected to mount a tough challenge to continue to make the JCPOA work in the light of Trump’s May 8 decision to ‘withdraw’ from the agreement, it remains to be seen to what extent they can succeed.

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv
• May 17, 2018
• Issue Brief

Although Iran and the Latin American states appear to be unlikely allies when considering the vast distances and the religious, cultural and demographic differences between these regions, their shared experience of Washington’s hegemonistic designs have brought them closer. Washington’s failure to isolate Tehran has meant that the Islamic Republic, and Hezbollah, have prioritised relationship-building with states that are at the doorstep of the US. Although this has antagonised the US, Washington has only offered a weak reaction to the economic and geopolitical advances made by Iran.

• Paul Antonopoulos
• March 2018
• Strategic Analysis

The partial cease-fire brokered and imposed by Russia and Turkey, with Iran’s concurrence, on Assad and the ‘moderates’, might mark a turning point in Syria’s tortuous journey since 2011.

• K. P. Fabian
• January 02, 2017
• IDSA Comments

Over the last decade we have seen a race to build ports in the Indian Ocean as the two Asian powerhouses, China and India, compete to assert their regional influence. The newest addition to this power struggle is the Chabahar Port, located in Chabahar, a coastal town in the Sistan–Baluchistan region in south-eastern Iran, next to the Gulf of Oman, and at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz (Figure 1). Its strategic importance and economic value have drawn attention from many countries; however, India was the quickest to secure a deal to develop the port.

• Shawn Amirthan
• January 2017
• Strategic Analysis

The results of the most recent Parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections in Iran indicate that Iranians are increasingly unhappy with the conservative establishment in the country. The Reformists or moderates and pro-Rouhani group of ‘Hope’ secured a majority in the Assembly of Experts and also won more seats than their rival conservatives or Principlists in the Majlis or parliament. The elections for the two bodies were held on February 26, 2016.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• July 2016
• Strategic Analysis

The lifting of sanctions against Iran relating to its nuclear activities marks an important turning point for Iran, the region, the United States, and the rest of the world.

• K. P. Fabian
• January 18, 2016
• IDSA Comments

Unless addressed, the escalation of tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia can have serious adverse consequences for regional stability and peace and also for ongoing efforts to bring to an end the war in Yemen and the wars in Syria.

• K. P. Fabian
• January 06, 2016
• IDSA Comments

While both Saudi Arabia and Iran vie for power and influence, Yemenis continue to suffer and the country seems to be slipping into further instability.

• Prasanta Kumar Pradhan
• May 26, 2015
• Issue Brief

This Issue Brief looks back at the implementation of the JPOA and examines the extent to which the recent framework (JCPOA) agreed upon at Lausanne adheres to the letter and spirit of the JPOA, specifically as it relates to the pledge to treat the Iranian nuclear programme “as that of any non-nuclear state party to the NPT”.

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv , G. Balachandran
• April 23, 2015
• Issue Brief

The Iran nuclear deal should not be seen in isolation. There has been a clear realisation in the West, especially in the US, that Iran needs to be brought out of international isolation and into the mainstream.

• Rajeev Agarwal
• April 06, 2015
• IDSA Comments