The U.S. government designates Iran as the "most active state sponsor of terrorism," which feeds concerns about Iran's growing nuclear program.

The alleged Iranian plot to kill a Saudi ambassador in Washington, DC requires a strong response from the Obama administration and makes Iran a national security priority, says CFR's Elliott Abrams.

Patrick Disney points out the need for change in U.S. policy towards Iran, as miscommunication and confusion motivate further expansion of the country's nuclear program.

Iran poses steep challenges to its Middle East neighbors and the world. Explore the country's complex regime structure and controversial nuclear program, and watch experts debate the range of policy options.

This is a special feature presentation from CFR that offers a unique, full-screen experience.

The latest multimedia feature in CFR's Emmy award-winning series uses expert interviews, interactive timelines, graphs, and images to trace Iran's history, examine its oil-driven economy, and survey its nuclear program.

The upheaval in Arab states presents opportunities and pitfalls for Iran in the Mideast. The best way for Washington to counter a possible Iranian rise, say some experts, is to cultivate relationships with Arab publics.

In this monograph, author Michael Einsenstadt discusses the strategic culture of Iran and its impact on the country's approach to strategy and war. Through an examination of Iran's “way of war,” Eisenstadt offers specific suggestions for the United States to better engage or deal with Iran.

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.

Ray Takeyh states, "The Islamic Republic has entered its post-authoritarian stage."

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."

Foreign Policy's Ali Vaez discusses the politics and problems of Iran's first nuclear power plant.

A new regime in Damascus could threaten Iran's support of Hezbollah and deprive Tehran of its one ally in the region, so it's counseling the Assad government to hang tough, says Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour.

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."

Karim Sadjadpour writes in the Washington Post that by accentuating the country's internal rifts and breaking previously sacred taboos -- such as challenging the supreme leader -- Ahmadinejad has become an unlikely, unwitting ally of Iran's democracy movement.

Kim Zetter of Wired's national security blog, Threat Level, discusses the politics and science of the stuxnet virus that infected Iran's nuclear centrifuges.

In testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Ray Takeyh says that mutual antipathy to the presence of the Iranian opposition party Mujahidin-i Khalq in Iraq is the one issue that has brought Tehran and Baghdad together.

Mark Wallace of the Los Angeles Times credits the silence of Iran amidst the Arab Spring to a government campaign of brutal repression, with the execution of dissidents at its forefront.

Iran may hope to capitalize on the Arab Spring, write Dalia Dassa Kaye and Frederic Wehrey, but Tehran will find the region hard to manipulate.

In his piece for Foreign Policy, Vali Nasr explores Iran's main political fissure, specifically how Ahmadinejad is a threat to clerical supremacy, but without him, Khomeinism is even more vulnerable to reformist challengers.