Skip to page content

Iran

Featured

More than 30 years after Iran's revolution, its political, military, and international activities continue to challenge and perplex its neighbors and many Western democracies. RAND research has informed and influenced U.S. policymakers on a range of topics, from engagement and containment and Tehran's ability to exploit pan-Islamic causes to Iran's ongoing development of nuclear capabilities.

Commentary
Iran: Challenges and Successes in COVID-19 Pandemic Response
Iran has faced an uphill battle since the first cases of COVID-19 were found in the country. Despite limited resources, Iran has also had its share of successes and innovations in combating the virus.
Apr 20, 2022
Report
What Drives Iran's Military Interventions?
Iran has risen as one of the most significant regional challenges faced by the United States. A RAND report identifies key signposts of Iranian military interventions that can be used as early warning indicators for U.S. military planners.
Sep 27, 2021

Explore Iran

Announcement
Australian Foreign Minister and International Policy Experts Discuss Middle East Challenges During Meeting at RAND
The RAND Corporation and the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney convened a distinguished group of Australian and American experts to discuss the challenges ahead in Middle East policy for both countries.
Jan 29, 2016
Commentary
Iran, Terrorism, and Nonproliferation After the Nuclear Deal
As Iran re-enters global markets, the Obama administration needs a strategy that accounts for the nuclear deal's potentially adverse implications for U.S. counterterrorism policy as well as its advantages for nonproliferation policy.
Jan 28, 2016
Commentary
Saudi-Iranian Tensions
The U.S.-Iran nuclear accord has induced a sense of abandonment in Riyadh. The Saudis may fear that Washington might one day replace its alliance with Saudi Arabia with a new partnership with Iran; or perhaps more realistically, that it might come to depend less on Riyadh given improving ties with Iran.
Jan 22, 2016
Commentary
Iran Nuclear Deal Is Working, but Challenges Persist
The nuclear agreement with Iran made sanctions relief contingent on Iran's first having verifiably undertaken steps to dismantle its nuclear program. It has completed these tasks, and it is now the United States' turn to implement its obligations under the deal.
Jan 19, 2016
Commentary
Iran: A Rising Cyber Power?
Iran is a country with revisionist tendencies that has accumulated enemies. This has impelled it to develop techniques to keep them at bay. Cyber, in some circumstances, is a particularly cost-effective way of doing so.
Dec 16, 2015
Testimony
The Impact of Sanctions Relief on Iran
The Iran nuclear deal will provide Iran with significant sanctions relief and ease some of its economic stresses. But several factors will limit the regime's ability to grow the economy and use the new resources to achieve its foreign policy objectives.
Nov 5, 2015
Commentary
Unlocking Iran's Economy
While Rouhani and his team want Iran's gradual opening, reactionary forces aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, much of the security establishment, and the clergy are likely to stand guard against “anti-revolutionary” tendencies and policies.
Nov 2, 2015
Commentary
Congress Should Monitor Iran Deal, Not Keep Trying to Kill It
If Iranian compliance with the nuclear accord is Congress's goal, then legislators should focus on ensuring that the deal is effectively implemented.
Sep 12, 2015
Commentary
The Only Iran Deal Alternative Worth Considering
Now is the time for Washington to prove its leadership and implement the Iran nuclear deal. The alternative is a major diplomatic defeat for America and an unrestricted Iranian nuclear program.
Aug 30, 2015
Commentary
A Better Deal for Iran
It is critical for lawmakers to understand there will be serious consequences for rejecting the Iran deal. And those consequences look a lot worse for the United States and its partners than for Iran.
Aug 24, 2015
Blog
The 2015 Summer Reading List for Congress
With Capitol Hill slowing for August recess, this list of must-read research and commentaries will help ensure that policymakers are ready to dive right back in this fall.
Aug 5, 2015
Commentary
Opening Iran After the Nuclear Deal
The nuclear accord paves the way for Iranian-Americans to help Iranians know the United States not for past perceived misdeeds, but future possibilities.
Aug 3, 2015
Journal Article
The Iranian Missile Threat to Air Bases: A Distant Second to China's Conventional Deterrent
Iranian and Chinese ballistic missile doctrine contrasted. Implications for United States (US) force posture, force structure, and ability to project force globally.
Jul 31, 2015
Commentary
It's Time to Reboot Our Relationship with Russia and Iran's Neighbors
In implementing the prospective Iran nuclear agreement, the West cannot forget its engagement in the vulnerable South Caucasus. The Iran deal changes the equation for all three countries and perhaps opens new opportunities.
Jul 28, 2015
Commentary
Post Deal, Can Rouhani Deliver on Promises of Reform?
Rouhani was elected president because he offered hope; he claimed that the nuclear agreement would be the key to unlock or solve Iran's problems. But it will take more than that to make Iran a better place to live. Can he achieve his people's dreams? Is he even willing?
Jul 24, 2015
Commentary
Iran Deal or No Deal
A U.S. rejection of the Iran nuclear agreement would send the wrong message, not only to Iran but also to America's closest allies, and it would not serve American interests in the region.
Jul 22, 2015
Commentary
Peace in the Middle East: America's New Post-Iran Deal Challenge
It is no surprise that the final Iran nuclear deal was met with opposition in Israel and Saudi Arabia. For all the talk about whether or not this is a good deal, negotiating with Iran was the original sin from their perspective.
Jul 20, 2015
Commentary
Global Terror Network Will Get a Boost from Iran Nuclear Deal
Iranian sponsorship of terrorist organizations cannot be divorced from the negotiations because the sanctions that will be lifted provide new sources of funding to reinforce the Iran threat network. A global strategy to address the Iran threat network is essential to stability in the region.
Jul 15, 2015
Commentary
Iran Deal Not a Panacea, but a Pragmatic Necessity
The nuclear agreement is not perfect and certainly does not attain the ideals of either side. But it prevents Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability in the near future while giving some space for Iranian proponents of change.
Jul 15, 2015
Project
The Days After a Deal with Iran
Now that a nuclear agreement has been struck, what will be the implications for U.S. regional strategy, Iran's own foreign policy orientation, the response from regional partners, the global non-proliferation regime, and the role of Congress in implementation of the agreement?
Jul 14, 2015

Previous
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Next

RAND Topic:
Iran

Topic Synonyms:
Islamic Republic of Iran

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Michelle Grisé

Senior Policy Researcher

Michelle Grisé is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on Iran, South Asia, Russian military strategy, strategic competition, and international law. Prior to joining RAND, Grisé was a law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the…
Sunny D. Bhatt

Policy Analyst

Sunny D. Bhatt is a policy analyst at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Based in the Washington, D.C. office, Bhatt's research experience includes qualitative analysis and policy research for the National Security Research Division, through the Cyber and…

Explore Our People »