November 24, 2008
"The Sunni-Shia Divide and the Future of Islam"
Media Feature
By Vali Nasr
Vali Nasr was interviewed by Krista Trippet for the NPR show, Speaking of Faith, on the Sunni-Shia Divide and the Future of Islam.
Listen to the program here.
AP Photo
October 13, 2008
"Obama Is Right About Talking to Iran"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Vali Nasr
"Many have assumed that Russia can help solve the Iran problem, but few have considered that the reverse is also true. Iran is important to Russia's game plan and how Moscow weighs its options going forward. That makes talking to Iran an essential part of America's plans for containing Russia."
June 19, 2008
"Iran on Its Heels"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Vali Nasr
Iran still has considerable influence in Iraq. It may reconstitute the Mahdi Army and pick up the fight against America, using special groups of the type suspected in the Baghdad car bombing Tuesday. It may also try to use nationalist opposition to the U.S.-Iraq "status of forces" agreement to its advantage. But Tehran will find it difficult to regain lost turf in Baghdad or Basra, or to go back to happily supporting Shiites both at the center and in the militias. It will have to choose whether it is with the state or the sub-state actors.
June 18, 2008
Vali Nasr Discusses Iraq on Charlie Rose
Media Feature
By Vali Nasr
DI Senior Fellow Vali Nasr tells Charlie Rose about his recent trip to Iraq. The Council on Foreign Relation's Stephen Biddle and the New York Times' Michael Gordon also weigh in.
Watch the full program here.
AP Photo
January 8, 2008
US-Iran Relations
Media Feature
By Vali Nasr
Vali Nasr discusses current tensions between the United States and Iran on The World.
January/February 2008
"The Costs of Containing Iran: Washington's Misguided New Middle East Policy"
Journal Article, Foreign Affairs
By Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh
The Bush administration wants to contain Iran by rallying the support of Sunni Arab states and now sees Iran's containment as the heart of its Middle East policy: a way to stabilize Iraq, declaw Hezbollah, and restart the Arab-Israeli peace process. But the strategy is unsound and impractical, and it will probably further destabilize an already volatile region.
December 29, 2007
Effect of Bhutto's Death
Media Feature
By Vali Nasr
CNN's Drew Griffin talks to Vali Nasr about the death of Benazir Bhutto and its effect on Pakistan.
December 18, 2007
"How Iran's president is being undercut"
Op-Ed, Christian Science Monitor
By Vali Nasr
Because the theocratic regime now feels immune from military retribution and is confronting a fragmented international community, it is likely to be fortified in its efforts to complete the fuel cycle. Meanwhile, Iran is cooperating with inspectors at the International Atomic Energy Agency and is judged by the CIA to have suspended critical components of its nuclear network. It has no reason to cease any of its activities.
AP Photo
December 9, 2007
"Meet 'The Decider' of Tehran. It's Not the Hothead You Expect"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Vali Nasr
When most Americans think of Iran, they probably think of its incendiary president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Since his election in 2005, Ahmadinejad has gleefully shocked the world with his defiance over Iran's nuclear programs, his ravings about a Shiite messiah, his jeremiads against Israel and his denial that the Holocaust occurred. But while Ahmadinejad is surely the regime's face, he's not its boss. Since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's death in 1989, the real power in Tehran has belonged to the country's supreme leader and top cleric, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ahmadinejad makes all the noise, but Khamenei pulls all the strings.
December 7, 2007
A discussion about the new intelligence on Iran
Media Feature
By Vali Nasr
Vali Nasr discusses the new intelligence on Iran with Charlie Rose.
