Alireza Nader

Photo of Alireza Nader

Media Resources

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Senior International Policy Analyst
Washington Office

Education

M.A. in international affairs, The George Washington University; B.A. in political science, University of California, Santa Barbara

Overview

Biography

Alireza Nader is a senior international policy analyst at the RAND Corporation and the lead co-author of Coping with a Nuclearizing Iran (2011). His research has focused on Iran's political dynamics, elite decisionmaking, and Iranian foreign policy. His other RAND publications include Israel and Iran: A Dangerous Rivalry;The Next Supreme Leader: Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran; Saudi-Iranian Relations Since the Fall of Saddam: Rivalry, Cooperation, and Implications for U.S. Policy; The Rise of the Pasdaran: Assessing the Domestic Roles of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps; and Mullahs, Guards, and Bonyads: An Exploration of Iranian Leadership Dynamics. His commentaries and articles have appeared in a variety of publications and he is widely cited by the U.S. and international media. Prior to joining RAND, Nader served as a research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses. He is a native speaker of Farsi. Nader received his M.A. in international affairs from The George Washington University.

Research Focus

Previous Positions

Research Analyst, Center for Naval Analyses; Program Officer, U.S. Department of the Treasury

Recent Projects

  • The Iranian nuclear program
  • The Israeli-Iranian rivalry
  • Iranian domestic politics
  • Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
  • Iranian objectives in Iraq and Afghanistan

Selected Publications

James Dobbins, Alireza Nader, Coping With a Nuclearizing Iran, RAND Corporation (MG-1154 SRF), 2011

Dalia Dassa Kaye, Alireza Nader, Israel and Iran: A Dagerous Rivalry, RAND Corporation (MG-1134), 2011

Languages

Farsi

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: Al Arabiya; Al Jazeera; BBC; CBS; CNBC; CNN; C-SPAN; MSNBC; NPR; Sirius XM; Voice of America

Commentary: ForeignPolicy.com; GlobalSecurity.org; International Herald Tribune; NYTimes.com; PBS FRONTLINE; Project Syndicate; San Francisco Chronicle; United Press International; United States Institute of Peace

Commentary

Will Iran's Real Reformists Please Stand Up? — May 14, 2013

  • U.S. News & World Report

Why Iran Is Trying to Save the Syrian Regime — Apr 24, 2013

  • U.S. News & World Report

Labor and Opposition in Iran — Apr 22, 2013

  • Foreign Policy

Iran's Forgotten Ethnic Minorities — Apr 3, 2013

  • Foreign Policy

Iran's Elections to End All Elections — Mar 6, 2013

  • U.S. News & World Report

Khamenei's Mounting Pressures — Feb 11, 2013

  • wilsoncenter.org

Reading Chuck Hagel in Tehran — Feb 6, 2013

  • NYTimes.com

What Is Iran's Strategy at New Talks? — Feb 5, 2013

  • United States Institute of Peace's Iran Primer

Profile: Revolutionary Guards Chief Gen. Jafari — Jan 21, 2013

  • United States Institute of Peace's Iran Primer

Iran: A Rough Year in 2013 — Jan 2, 2013

  • PBS FRONTLINE and USIP.org

The Iranian Regime Is in Trouble — Oct 3, 2012

  • U.S. News & World Report

Will Iran Close the Strait of Hormuz? — Oct 2, 2012

  • United States Institute of Peace's Iran Primer

Would Iran Turn to Terror? — Oct 2, 2012

  • United States Institute of Peace's Iran Primer

How Would Iran Fight Back? — Oct 1, 2012

  • United States Institute of Peace's Iran Primer

Smart Sanctions — Sep 25, 2012

  • Foreign Policy

Iran's Buying Time—and That's Fine — May 22, 2012

  • ForeignPolicy.com

Iran's Calculations in New Diplomatic Talks — Apr 17, 2012

  • United States Institute of Peace's Iran Primer and PBS.org

Will Khamenei Compromise? — Apr 2, 2012

  • Al-Monitor

Khamenei: The Nuclear Decision-maker — Feb 23, 2012

  • PBS FRONTLINE

Is Regime Change in Iran the Only Solution? — Jan 26, 2012

  • ForeignPolicy.com

Iran's Self-Destructive Gamble — Jan 6, 2012

  • NYTimes.com on January 5, 2012 and in International Herald Tribune

Ahmadinejad vs. the Revolutionary Guards — Jul 11, 2011

  • PBS FRONTLINE

The Quiet Before the Storm — May 16, 2011

  • PBS FRONTLINE

Iran Overhauls Subsidies in the Face of Sanctions — Jan 13, 2011

  • RAND.org and GlobalSecurity.org

Revolutionary Guards Criticize Ahmadinejad — Nov 5, 2010

  • PBS.org and USIP

Punish Iran's Rulers, Not Its People — Dec 14, 2009

  • ForeignPolicy.com

Finding a Solution to Iran — Sep 30, 2009

  • RAND.org

Iran's New Contender — Mar 24, 2009

  • Project Syndicate

Is Ahmadinejad in Trouble? — Dec 17, 2008

  • United Press International

Publications