All Policy Analysis by Farzin Nadimi

The IRGC has sought to prove the resilience and technological prowess of its new UAVs by displaying them next to recovered models from other countries, but it may also be trying to mask key shortcomings.

The IRGC will likely continue using such incidents as a way to signal its domestic rivals, justify its large budget, and meet other goals, so Washington should remain vigilant and consider seeking an official channel for emergency communications.

As part of its renewed effort to export the Islamic Revolution through armed proxies, Tehran has been recruiting and training Afghan and Pakistani fighters for Syria's battlefields, thereby giving them invaluable experience for potential future campaigns in other regional countries.

Two Iran experts discuss the political and military implications of Tehran's unprecedented decision to allow Russian airstrikes from its territory.

The appointment of one of the IRGC's youngest generals can be seen as a sign of the Guards' growing primacy in future Iranian military thinking, and perhaps an urgent push toward improving interoperability between often-competing armed services.

A recent crash highlights the air force's struggles to maintain its readiness and budget at a time when Revolutionary Guard leaders are pushing for a deterrence posture based solely on their own ballistic missile arsenal.

New evidence indicates that components of the old but potent missile system have made their way to Tehran, though the scope and timing of their contribution to Iran's air-defense capabilities remain uncertain.

Elements of the national army have officially joined the IRGC on Syria's battlefields, but Tehran's apparent public-relations strategy could backfire at home if casualties mount.

The lifting of international sanctions and the region's vastly changing geopolitical environment have opened a window of opportunity for Tehran to buy potent arms from Russia and modernize its arsenal.

Washington and Tehran must act now to prevent further escalation between their respective naval forces.

By test-firing a new ballistic missile and flaunting a secret underground tunnel complex, Tehran hopes to reassure hardliners at home while defiantly showing the international community that it is still pursuing active deterrence and missile development.

The missile strikes on targets in Syria showed unprecedented cooperation between Russia and Iran, but they also serve as a wakeup call to Tehran about Moscow's expanding military profile in the Caspian.

Given Tehran's noncompliant track record and the UN Security Council's imperfect arms restrictions, the nuclear deal could allow Iran to offer its allies a growing range of weapons systems designed to increase survivability and lethality in asymmetric warfare scenarios.

To prevent recent airline and shipping incidents from escalating into a wider military confrontation with Iran, all sides will need to exercise great caution in the Persian Gulf and the skies over Yemen.

Blowing up a mock U.S. carrier was likely the Supreme Leader's way of prodding the depressed oil market and reaffirming his role as the true arbiter of Iran's nuclear future.

The recently announced seven-month extension in nuclear talks grants the P5+1 time to strengthen its negotiating position on a number of fronts, including time to ensure checks on Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities. Here, creating a viable monitoring regime for Iranian missile efforts is essential -- simply limiting Iranian access to

Despite the loss of a close ally in outgoing prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) appears ready to move on by offering substantial military support to his successor in Baghdad.

As nuclear negotiations between Iran and the international community enter a more dangerous and uncertain phase, further tensions and confrontations are likely on an often-overlooked front: the vital shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf. Given its natural geographic advantages and deliberate military development, the Islamic Republic effectively holds the Strait

For more than a decade, Iran has lavished a considerable share of its defense budget on its naval forces (which consist of both regular and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps units), believing that the Persian Gulf will be its front line in the event of a confrontation with the United States

Recent events, including the launch of Iran's first space imaging satellite, the announcement that Russia is selling Iran twenty-nine Tor-M1 (SA-15 Gauntlet) mobile short-range surface-to-air missile systems for $700 million, and the crash of an air force C-130 transport plane into an apartment block in Tehran, have focused attention on