All Policy Analysis by Patrick Clawson

On February 11, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran is expected to declare that it has made a grand advance in its nuclear program based on weeks of feverish work at its Natanz enrichment facility. The most appropriate Western response is to hang tough until Iran's fundamental weaknesses

On December 2, 2006, the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain held the second round of runoff elections for its national assembly, an advisory body. Meanwhile, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), December 16-20 will see the first-ever elections for half of the advisory federal national council, all of whose members

In its report due out on December 6, the Iraq Study Group (ISG), often referred to as the Baker-Hamilton commission, will presumably recommend reaching out to Iran to seek its involvement in stabilizing Iraq. To evaluate the prospects for success, it is useful to look at the history of efforts

As Western diplomats debate ways to counter Iran's nuclear program, the strategies they devise must take Iranian motives into account. If Iranian leaders see their nuclear program as essential to defending Iran's existence—as the Israeli and Pakistani governments view their nuclear programs—then economic considerations would make little difference to Iran's

Despite U.S. efforts to forge a multinational coalition aimed at curbing the Iranian nuclear program, questions have arisen about the effectiveness of this approach. For example, has Iran converted discussions on the issue into a stalling tactic while it continues to make progress in its nuclear program? Can any international

For the last year, Iran has been successfully gaming the international diplomatic process, stalling while its nuclear program moves inexorably forward. We need to make time work for us, not against us. The best way to do that is to take bold and immediate steps to deter and contain Iran