Special Report: The Iran Enigma

Special Report: The Iran Enigma

As U.S. policymakers and other governments around the world search for an approach that will convince Iran to stop short of crossing the nuclear weapons threshold, Iran continues to send very mixed signals, and shows no signs of abandoning progress toward producing weapons-grade nuclear material. Meanwhile, Iran is in the midst of an internal political struggle that is often opaque from the outside, but could have major consequences for the country’s position in the region and the world. This World Politics Review special report examines “The Iran Enigma.”

This report is a compilation of 25 articles on Iran published in World Politics Review from September 2009 to February 2010. The report looks at Iran’s domestic situation, its foreign relations, and U.S. policy toward Iran.

Below are links to each article, which subscribers can read in full. Subscribers can also download a pdf version of the report. Not a subscriber? Subscribe now, or try our subscription service for free.

Inside Iran
Iran’s Long History of Online Opposition
By Cyrus Farivar

September 1, 2009

Ahmadinejad’s Newfound Independence
By Jamsheed K. Choksy
September 3, 2009

Iran’s Revolution Grows Up
By Jon B. Alterman
September 15, 2009

Ethnic Divisions are Iran’s Other Achilles Heel
By Frida Ghitis
October 22, 2009

The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: Iran’s Greens Join the Fray
By Masoud Shafaee
November 16, 2009

Confronting History, and the IRGC, in Iran
By Babak Yektafar
December 9, 2009

Iran’s 30-Year War on Drugs
By Matthew C. Dupee
February 10. 2010

In iran, Whose Revolution is it, Anyway?
BY Babak Yektafar
February 22, 2010

Iran’s Foreign Relations

Iran’s New Nuclear Diplomacy
By Kaveh Afrasiabi
September 9, 2009

Iran Naval Patrols Mystify Pirate-Hunting Coalition
By David Axe
October 7, 2009

Iran’s Growing Fear of Al-Qaida and the Taliban
By Jamsheed Choksy and Carol B. Choksy
December 3, 2009

India-Iran Relations: Sometimes, Maybe
By Saurav Jha
December 8, 2009

Why Iran Launched a Raid in Iraq
By Frida Ghitis
December 24, 2009

U.S. Policy and Iran

Mideast Countries Shoot Down Washington’s Trial Balloon
By Frida Ghitis
September 3, 2009

Interfering in Iran: Obama’s Dilemma

By Masoud Shafaee
September 3. 2009

Engaging Iran: An Interview with R. Nicholas Burns
By Seth McLaughlin
September 4, 2009

Obama’s Missile Defense Decision and the Iran Nuclear Talks
By Kaveh Afrasiabi
September 22, 2009

Iran Buys Time for Nuclear Program at Little Cost
By Jamsheed Choksy
October 2, 2009

Engaging the Arab World on the Nuclear Crisis
By Elizabeth Iskander
October 5, 2009

Steps Toward Crafting a Nuclear Deal with Iran
By Kaveh Afrasiabi
October 16, 2009

Playing the Clock on Iran’s Regime
By Nikolas Gvosdev
January 29, 2010

Finding a Workable Iran Policy
By Nikolas Gvosdev
February 5, 2010

After Iran Failure, Obama Moves to Plan B
By Frida Ghitis
February 11, 2010

A Week of Shock and Awe on Iran
By Frida Ghitis
February 18, 2010

Testing Our Iran Policy Assumptions
By Nikolas Gvosdev
February 19, 2010

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