Suzanne Maloney, Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour
{
"authors": [
"Karim Sadjadpour"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East",
"Iran"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Nuclear Policy"
]
}Source: Getty
New Information Surfaces About Iran
The IAEA announcement that Iran may be working towards a nuclear warhead plays into growing international concerns that Iran is becoming a military dictatorship, with the influence of the Revolutionary Guards eclipsing that of the clergy.
Source: PBS' Worldfocus
Secretary Clinton’s recent remark that Iran is moving towards becoming a “military dictatorship” has helped spotlight the role of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran. Karim Sadjadpour asserts that “the Revolutionary Guards has surpassed the clergy in Iran in terms of political and economic influence and are running Iranian foreign policy in Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan.”
Ayatollah Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad have spearheaded this transition to military dictatorship. The regime is facing increasing scrutiny on its nuclear program, after a recent International Atomic Energy Agency report stated that Iran has either resumed work on making a nuclear warhead or had never stopped. Although many actors in the international community have expressed concerns over this report, Sadjadpour suggests that it will not be a “game changer” nor affect the Obama administration’s efforts to sanction Iran.
About the Author
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.
- Iran Wanted to Survive the War. Now What?Q&A
- What’s Keeping the Iranian Regime in Power—for NowQ&A
Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour, Robin Wright
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- Europe’s Tide of Citizen Assemblies: Unsung Success or Anticlimax?Article
A notable degree of participative democracy has firmly arrived in Europe. But to have more far-reaching impact, democratic deliberation needs to move into a radically new phase.
Richard Youngs
- The Uncomfortable Truth About EU EnlargementCommentary
Before the next wave of EU enlargement takes place, the union needs to grapple with thorny questions of how power is distributed among its members.
Emil Sondaj Hansen, Ditte Brasso Sørensen
- Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European OrderReport
As the EU confronts profound challenges, several leaders have called for fundamental reform to the union’s model—but only modest, superficial changes have resulted. What if Europe really could be reimagined from zero today: What should such a redesigned European order look like?
Richard Youngs, ed.
- Taking the Pulse: Is European Diplomacy on Iran Outdated?Commentary
When the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was announced, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy declared their readiness to help demine the Strait of Hormuz and lift nuclear sanctions on Tehran. But does Europe need new tools to recover a diplomatic role?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- The Climate Blind Spot in Europe’s New Migration PactCommentary
The EU’s new migration policy is not suited to today’s realities. With climate change increasingly becoming a driver of displacement, Europe needs to rethink its deterrence-focused approach.
Shana Tabak