All Policy Analysis by Patrick Clawson

If oil income falters due to falling prices or sanctions, Tehran will have great difficulty paying its promised $45 billion per year in public subsidies, making the regime more susceptible to foreign pressure.

At the April 13 meeting of the West Bank/Gaza donors group known as the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank presented reports arguing that the Palestinians are ready for statehood. Yet that judgment requires three important caveats. First, it depends on future Israel-Palestinian cooperation

In an April 8 confrontation at Camp Ashraf, Iraq -- home to some 3,400 members of the Iranian dissident organization Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) -- Iraqi army forces killed at least thirty-four people, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. The clash highlighted an ongoing problem: what to

On March 20, during his annual speech marking the Iranian New Year, President Obama crystallized recent shifts in U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic. Tellingly, this year's message was addressed to "the people of Iran" rather than to the government, in sharp contrast to Obama's 2009 declaration "I would like

Washington currently lacks broad consensus on how to deal with the persistent and dangerous strategic challenge posed by the Iranian regime. Supporters of current Obama administration policy emphasize progress made toward forging international consensus, delaying Iran's nuclear goals, and taking away the regime's "enemy narrative" about U.S. intentions. Others are