Inside Iran’s Regime (Part 2): The Clerical Crisis
Brief Analysis In a climate where many clerics are unhappy about their situation and some…
Author Mehdi Khalaji
The Rushdie Attack and Iran’s Deceptive “Fatwas”
Whether or not Tehran is proven to be involved, the incident holds significant implications for…
The Zarif Tape: Revelations on Russia, the Qods Force, and Iran’s Election
The foreign minister had much to say about the IRGC branch’s political interference at home…
The Pope Meets the Ayatollah
The Vatican’s outreach to Iraq is laudable in its goal of decreasing religious violence, but…
Observations on the Islamic State in Iran
Say, ‘Shall I inform you who are the greatest losers in respect to their deeds?…
Iran’s Supreme Leader Responds to Soleimani’s Death
Khamenei and other regime officials have been quick to swear revenge, but for now they…
Iran’s Push for ‘Regime Change’ in Saudi Arabia and Washington
Emboldened by their success in attacking Gulf and U.S. interests with relative impunity, Iranian leaders…
Iran’s Anti-Western ‘Blueprint’ for the Next Fifty Years
Khamenei’s latest guidelines for Iranian culture and governance focus on resisting any efforts to reform…
Iran’s Presidential Election: The Clergy’s Political Irrelevance
As clerics are pushed ever further to the political margins, the regime will need to…
Khamenei’s Nowruz Nuances
The Supreme Leader’s two New Year’s speeches provide a valuable look at the regime’s internal…
Rafsanjani’s Death Could Increase the IRGC’s Succession Role
Unlike in 1989, the Revolutionary Guards and other powerful Iranian institutions will probably play an…
The JCPOA and Iran’s Internal Factional Battles
The nuclear deal and the negotiations leading up to it have been a significant source…
Choosing Iran’s Next Supreme Leader
While the Experts Assembly elected this month may be formally tasked with appointing the elderly…
A Deal Among Enemies
The Iranian regime’s anti-Western regional policy has become much more important to its identity than…
Iran’s Majlis Unlikely to Settle Internal Dispute on the Nuclear Deal
The release of a special-committee report to the Majlis will be seized on by hardliners,…
Why Khamenei’s Official Approval of the Nuclear Deal Matters
If the Supreme Leader is able to continue his strategy of purposeful ambiguity by manipulating…
The Nuclear Deal May Weaken Rouhani
The agreement is a significant achievement for Rouhani, but the hardliners are already moving to…
Iran’s Next Supreme Leader and the Nuclear Deal
In all likelihood, Khamenei’s potentially imminent successor will be even more of a hardliner, and…
