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.
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.
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.
December 6, 2007
"Get Tehran Inside of the Tent"
Op-Ed, International Herald Tribune
By Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh
Dialogue, compromise and commerce, as difficult as they maybe, are a means of providing Tehran with incentives to commit itself to regional stability. Instead of militarizing the Gulf and forming up shaky alliances on Iran's periphery, Washington should move toward a local security system featuring all the regional actors.
May/June 2007
Who Wins In Iraq?
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Foreign Policy
By Vali Nasr
After nearly 25 years of wrestling with Saddam Hussein, Iran’s Shiite rulers have the war to thank for their newfound power.
April 5, 2007
What We Can Learn From Britain About Iran
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Vali Nasr
Through the capture of and subsequent announcement that it would release 15 British sailors and marines, the Islamic Republic of Iran sent its adversaries a pointed message: just as Iran will meet confrontation with confrontation, it will respond to what it perceives as flexibility with pragmatism. This message is worth heeding as the United States and Iran seem to be moving inexorably toward conflict.
February 8, 2007
The Iran Option That Isn't On the Table
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Washington Post
By Vali Nasr
As Iran crosses successive nuclear demarcations and mischievously intervenes in Iraq, the question of how to address the Islamic republic is once more preoccupying Washington. Economic sanctions, international ostracism, military strikes and even support for hopeless exiles are all contemplated with vigor and seriousness. One option, however, is rarely assessed: engagement as a means of achieving a more pluralistic and responsible government in Tehran.
December 19, 2006
Behind the Rise of the Shi'ites
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Time.com
By Vali Nasr
The most significant challenge facing the U.S. in an increasingly unstable Middle East today is understanding the rise of the Shi'ites across the region.
