Kayhan Barzegar

December 5, 2007

"The View from Iran"

Op-Ed, Boston Globe

By Kaveh L. Afrasiabi and Kayhan Barzegar, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program

"...With the United States and Iran poised for a fourth round of dialogue on Iraq's security, and the latest IAEA report confirming Iran's steady cooperation and increasing nuclear transparency, the stage is now set for a thaw in the hitherto hostile US-Iran relations.

Both sides should heed the call by the head of IAEA, Mohammad ElBaradei, to use the intelligence report as the basis for a comprehensive dialogue geared toward normalization."

Summer 2007

"Iran's Foreign Policy towards Iraq and Syria"

Journal Article, Turkish Policy Quarterly, issue 2, volume 6

By Kayhan Barzegar, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program

This paper investigates the roots of Iranian foreign policy toward Iraq and Syria after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Because of its geo-strategic location, political-cultural characteristics and energy sources, Iran is a pivotal state in shaping the international politics of the Middle East. Since the September 11th events, Iran has increasingly had impact on the issues such as regional crises in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon as well as the war against global terrorism, which are currently the most significant agenda items of international security. The author argues that Iran's foreign policy towards Iraq and Syria is primarily geopolitical, oriented at building a secure environment at its borders, for strategic-pragmatic purposes.