All Policy Analysis by Patrick Clawson

The Iranian president has taken steps to limit his vulnerability to a plodding recovery, but over time a failure of sanctions relief to bring about dramatic economic improvements could harm his political outlook.

Three experts discuss the need to better inform U.S. and European companies about the continued risks of doing business with Iran, including the particulars of how secondary sanctions will be enforced once the nuclear deal is implemented.

Before the nuclear deal was signed, the freezing of Iranian assets was incomplete, so the loosening of restrictions on these assets will have less impact than implied by past and current arguments.

Even after the deal is in effect, the United States can sustain or increase tough barriers on Iran's trade with other countries, but this fact has not been highlighted by the president or his team.

Since the announcement of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), members of The Washington Institute’s Iran Study Group have met to assess the agreement’s relationship to the parameters outlined in the study group’s June 24 policy statement. Members of the study group have also benefited from several hours of

The additional resources unleashed by the agreement will put Iran in a better position to spend more on its various priorities, but how much it puts toward foreign adventurism will remain a political, not an economic, decision.

President Rouhani speaks of conciliation with the United States, but the differing bilateral descriptions of the parameters have some Iranians worried that a deal is by no means certain.

Initial public statements by Iranian officials emphasize that the United States and its partners have accepted an outcome in which Tehran need not change course.

When it comes to sanctions, continuously adopting new measures is the best way to convince Iran's leaders that they must resolve the nuclear impasse.

Although a nuclear agreement might encourage banks and investors to reengage with Iran, low oil prices and longstanding economic problems could affect how the deal is perceived.

Implementing a nuclear agreement will be no easier than reaching one, and Washington will have little influence over what Iran decides to do over time about the deal.

As the P5+1 and Iran negotiate about the nuclear impasse, Iranian factional politics has heated up. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made disparaging comments about the nuclear negotiations, yet supported continuing the talks. The Rouhani government is facing a variety of criticisms: it is vigorously defending its record at

The Islamic Republic has taken tough measures to adjust to the new sanctions, and its economy is now positioned to grow modestly even if the sanctions remain in place.