Q&A
Suzanne Maloney, Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour
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Source: Getty
In The Media
Iran In The Regional Order
While the United States and Iran have shared numerous adversaries, such as the Soviet Union, the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and now the Islamic Staet, the strategic enmity between the two countries has prevailed.
Published on Jan 15, 2015
Source: European Council on Foreign Relations
“When you look at the main conflicts in today’s Middle East—Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Lebanon, Iraq—one common element that transcends all these conflicts is the Iran-Saudi rivalry,” said Carnegie’s Karim Sadjadpour at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He explained that this conflict has three dimensions to it: ethnic, sectarian, and ideological. Both countries are confident that they’re the natural leader of the Islamic world and the Middle East, Sadjadpour continued.
In regards to the relationship between the United States and Iran, he argued that while both countries have shared numerous adversaries, such as the Soviet Union, the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and now the Islamic State, the strategic enmity between the United States and Iran has prevailed, driven more by Tehran than Washington. There’s a real fundamental incongruence between the urgent national security concerns of Iran, such as radical Sunni jihadism and Iran’s revolutionary ideology.
This presentation was originally published by European Council on Foreign Relations.
About the Author
Karim Sadjadpour
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.
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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.
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