Publications on Iran

The Islamic State burst onto the Middle East scene as an entity whose conduct and very essence challenge the existing regional order. With its military conquests in Iraq and Syria, its establishment of branches elsewhere in the Middle East and beyond, its state-like governance in the areas under its control, and the cruelty it typically exhibits, the Islamic State has become the focus of regional and international interest and concern. The articles compiled in this volume examine ways of dealing with one of the most salient military,...

Russia’s intervention in the Syrian civil war allows – or perhaps even requires – Israel to reevaluate its objectives and rules of the game vis-à-vis other actors in the region, beginning with Iran and the Assad regime. Though faced with Tehran’s ambition for regional hegemony and an Iranian military presence on the border with Syria and Lebanon, Israel has so far avoided any move that might help topple Assad and thereby also uproot Iran’s hold over Syria and deny Hizbollah strategic depth in the country. Despite the high level of...

In practice, Syria is already split internally and divided into areas under the influence of external powers. As the Russians deploy, the coastal region will all but come directly under their control. Northern Syria, especially the Kurdish region, is under Turkish influence. The central axis of Syria – from Damascus to Homs and Aleppo – and the Syrian-Lebanese border are, with Hizbollah’s help, under Iranian influence. Eastern Syria is the battlefield for the war by the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State. Israel...

The nuclear agreement with Iran has sparked much concern about the financial resources Iran will have at its disposal once the sanctions are lifted. Most experts agree that the agreement has not prompted Iran to change its fundamental political or ideological approach and that it will continue to support its regional proxies, try to expand its sphere of influence in the Middle East, oppose the influence of the United States and the West in the region, and continue to show extreme hostility toward Israel. Presumably, then, Iran will...

The drop in oil prices of 55 percent over the past year stems from a classic supply and demand imbalance. The singular aspect of the current slump in the oil market is its occurrence at the height of the Middle East upheavals. This convergence of factors is problematic for the Gulf monarchies, and even more so for the nations economically connected to them. The high oil prices and foreign currency reserves from the outbreak of the unrest until 2014 helped the regimes in the Gulf maintain their citizens’ high standard of living. The...

The battle raging between the US President and Congress on the Iranian nuclear deal should not eclipse the story behind the future removal of US sanctions. The President has the power to remove Executive Order sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear activities after Implementation Day – when the IAEA verifies the implementation by Iran of the nuclear-related measures stipulated in the agreement. If the President withstands an attempt to override his veto (i.e., of the rejection of the agreement by Congress), his lifting of...

While Netanyahu probably had little if any chance of stopping the deal that materialized over the past year, he still has a role to play in trying to mitigate some of its worst implications – and this he should do. For this to happen, there is no substitute for focused discussions with the US administration, now and in the future. In this regard, Netanyahu is not doing himself or Israel any favors by continuing to intervene in the Congressional process that is currently underway. His perceived interference only exacerbates relations...