All Policy Analysis by Mehdi Khalaji

Patrick Clawson, Mehdi Khalaji, Michael Eisenstadt, Matthew Levitt, and Michael Singh have contributed material to this important ongoing project on Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei is determined to push for a completely loyal president, but the decision to dismiss Rafsanjani could undermine the regime in the long run.

The factional disputes that have long paralyzed Iranian policymaking will likely persist after the upcoming election, leaving the regime with no choice but to persist in its diplomatic standoff with the West.

As the regime narrows the list of approved candidates for the upcoming presidential election, Washington should criticize Tehran for limiting who is permitted to run.

FPA blogger Reza Akhlaghi interviews Mehdi Khalaji on Iran's ideological crisis and its effect on the upcoming presidential election.

Even if the Supreme Leader's fatwa against nuclear weapons were enshrined in a UN document, strong monitoring and verification measures would still be the indispensable core of any agreement.

An Iranian scholar visits Cairo, prompting reflections on the role of religion in two revolutions three decades apart.

Despite ideological affinities between the Muslim Brotherhood and Tehran, political disagreements make a rapprochement unlikely.

The Iranian nuclear program and the Assad regime share a commonality: both aim to undermine Western interests in the Middle East. For this reason, as much as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei values the nuclear program as a pillar of the Islamic Republic's political identity, his pro-Assad stance has taken its own place in Iran's regional policy.

If the Supreme Leader decides to get serious about nuclear negotiations, he will likely take a more public role in the process than before, if only to maintain control of Iran's increasingly turbulent domestic politics.

In times of conflict, being impartial does not necessarily translate into neutrality; silence in such circumstances may signify taking a side. This is indeed the Shi’ite clergy’s narrative about the violence in Syria.

The Ahmadinejad era has taught Supreme Leader Khamenei to never again let a politician use elections and the office of the president to establish independent authority.

Only with significantly greater cohesion in the United States and Israel will Iran's leaders even consider accepting a compromise on their nuclear program.

Ayatollah Khamenei is taking credit for Iran's supposed ascendancy, giving the West an opportunity to show that the disastrous ramifications of the regime's policies are his responsibility.

Shortly after Saturday's earthquake in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, the U.S. government issued a condolence statement that was notable for arriving a few hours before any comment on the matter by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. For his part, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has yet to issue a statement on the tragedy