Nicole Grajewski is a fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Her research examines Russian and Iranian policies in the global order, with a particular focus on Russian nuclear strategy, Iran’s nuclear decision-making, contestation in the non-proliferation regime, and nuclear deterrence. She is completing her first book on the evolution of the Russia-Iran relationship from Syria to Ukraine, with Hurst Publishers.
Nicole is an associate researcher with the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs. Previously, she was a Stanton Nuclear Security postdoctoral fellow at the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs, where she researched Russian civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran and Russian perspectives on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). She was also a predoctoral research fellow with the International Security Program at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs. Nicole has been a visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations and a Hans J. Morgenthau Grand Strategy fellow with Notre Dame’s International Security Program.
Nicole completed her PhD at the University of Oxford in the Department of Politics and International Relations. Her dissertation, which studied Russian and Iranian perspectives on international order, received Oxford’s Pavry prize for the outstanding thesis in International Relations and an honorable mention from the British International Studies Association for the best doctoral thesis in International Studies. While completing her doctoral studies, Nicole conducted extensive archival fieldwork and elite interviews in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. She holds a master’s degree in Russian & East European Studies from the University of Oxford and a BA in International Affairs from George Washington University’s Elliott School.
The outcome of the U.S. presidential elections will likely introduce a new chapter in American foreign policy, with prospective shifts that will shape the Middle East’s geopolitical landscape.
Tehran’s attempts to establish “new equations” of deterrence through direct strikes on Israel have largely backfired.
A conversation about the Russia-Iran summit in Turkmenistan.
A common adversary has brought these natural rivals together.
After its latest escalation, Tehran may be forced to reconsider its entire approach to national security, including leveraging its status as a threshold nuclear state to counter Israel.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that Iran has sent close range ballistic missiles to Russia, prompting expanded sanctions on the country. Blinken said that he expects the missiles to be used against Ukrainian forces within weeks.
U.S. sanctions over Iran’s missile deal with Russia are unlikely to derail President Masoud Pezeshkian’s efforts to bring his country out of isolation, diplomats say.
Iranian Ballistic Missiles Have Entered the Ukraine War Chat
By invading Russia, Ukraine was also sending a message to America.
A discussion on Russia's role in the Middle East
