The latest multimedia feature in CFR's Emmy award-winningseries uses expert interviews, interactive timelines, graphs, and images to trace Iran's history, examine its oil-driven economy, and survey its nuclear program.
A growing power struggle in Tehran adds new concerns for deterring Iran's nuclear ambitions. Analysts' recommendations for the U.S. range from engaging in direct talks to increasing pressure on the regime and trying to erode the regime's popular base.
Authors: Elliott Abrams, Eliot A. Cohen, Eric S. Edelman, and John P. Hannah Washington Post
Elliott Abrams, Eliot Cohen, Eric Edelman, and John Hannah, argue that former Vice President Dick Cheney advocation's for a U.S. strike to destroy the al-Kibar nuclear reactor built by Syria and North Korea was based on sound judgment.
Authors: Kenneth M. Pollack and Ray Takeyh The Washington Quarterly
Kenneth M. Pollack and Ray Takeyh state, ""... it is time to appreciate that the only manner of inducing meaningful change in the Islamic Republic's behavior without the resort to war is to otherwise imperil its very existence."
Ray Takeyh argues that despite economic sanctions and other attempts to curtail technological development in Iran, its nuclear program has grown in sophistication and capability over the past two decades.
Michael A. Levi says that when it comes to Iranian nuclear capability, "Distinctions between zero, limited and robust enrichment, and between all of these and a nuclear-armed Iran, really matter."
The nuclear nonproliferation regime has had difficulty dealing with noncompliance and preventing the illicit use of dual-use materials. A strengthened Proliferation Security Initiative can help prevent proliferation and mobilize international action.
Emma Belcher recommends the establishment of a nuclear security fund. Contributions from the private sector could build nuclear security capacity worldwide.
Stephen Sestanovich testifies before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee that, though the U.S. and Russia restored broadly cooperative ties after 2008, the relationship is marked by lingering frustration and even friction.
Emma L. Belcher says the recent detterence of a North Korean ship carrying nuclear material highlights the need for criminal codes that take nuclear crimes seriously.
Authors: Suzanne Maloney and Ray Takeyh New York Times
Suzanne Maloney and Ray Takeyh say Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is being sidelined by religious fundamentalists in Iran, and it's bad news for American officials seeking to halt Iran's nuclear program.
At their meeting in Deauville May 25, Russian President Medvedev and U.S. President Obama remained stalled on missile defense cooperation and Russia's bid to join the WTO, says CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.
The events convulsing the Middle East should prompt supplier states to place a moratorium on most nuclear cooperation with the region and devise long-term plans for better safeguarding major nuclear sites around the world, writes CFR's Jonathan Pearl.
In his new book, Weak Links: Fragile States, Global Threats, and International Security, Stewart Patrick argues that most fragile states are not a threat to the United States.
Global agreements aim to promote peaceful nuclear power while preventing the spread of materials, equipment, and technologies used to make nuclear weapons. CFR's research, meetings, interviews, backgrounders, and interactive content provide an essential source of analysis on these issues.
CFR Experts Guide
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More