Iran's elections may present a window of opportunity for the United States and the West.
While the outcome of Iran’s presidential election will not change the country’s external behavior with regard to its nuclear program, support for the Assad regime, or opposition to the United States and Israel, the new president will likely impact Iran’s internal atmosphere.
While the presidential elections do make a difference to the Iranian people, the country's nuclear policy, its role in the region, and its foreign policy are unlikely to change because these policies are still directed by the supreme leader.
Iranian presidential candidates have courted the popular vote while simultaneously auditioning to be the supreme leader's trusted lieutenant.
The outcome of Iran’s election will not have much of an impact on Tehran’s foreign policy and nuclear strategy—the supreme leader, not the president, makes those decisions.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has rigged the upcoming presidential elections by carefully approving candidates he agrees with to run.
The IAEA has some outreach to do in a lot of states that are having difficulty meeting their safeguards obligations because they don’t understand them, don’t prioritize them, or don’t have enough resources.
There’s mounting concern over the Iranian nuclear program. Is Tehran simply playing cat and mouse with the international community and buying time until it is ready to develop a nuclear weapon?
The case for a limited Israeli or U.S. military intervention to take out Tehran’s nuclear capability seems to be losing credibility by the day.
Turkey and the United States should promote a regional initiative on Syria that includes Iran if they are to prevent the crisis from further undermining regional stability.
















Stay connected to the Global Think Tank with Carnegie's smartphone app for Android and iOS devices