A USIP Fact Sheet
For decades, Iran has vexed the international community. It introduced Islam as a form of governance in 1979 and has supported militants abroad and defied international norms. The Islamic Republic has long opposed Israel and sought to expel U.S. forces from the Middle East. It has also deepened ties with other U.S. adversaries, including China, Russia and North Korea. Iran’s leaders lauded Hamas for its unprecedented assault on Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. The conflict quickly expanded as Iran’s network of militia allies in the so-called “Axis of Resistance” — including Hezbollah, the Houthis and various Iraqi militias — launched attacks on Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.
In 2024, the decades-long shadow war between Iran and Israel shifted to open warfare. In April 2024, an Israeli airstrike killed three generals in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and four other officers at a consulate abutting the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Two weeks later, Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel including 170 drones, at least 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. But nearly all the weapons were intercepted by Israeli, American, Jordanian and other regional forces. Israel responded with a limited strike on Iran that appeared to be calibrated to avoid further escalation.
The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, another key Iranian ally, in December 2024 threatened to cut Iran off from Hezbollah and undermine its ability to project power in the Levant. With limited options for restoring deterrence, a growing number of Iranian officials warned that Iran may need nuclear weapons for its security. Other officials, however, expressed willingness to negotiate with the Trump administration to resolve the nuclear dispute. In the meantime, Iran continued to stockpile enriched uranium and limit U.N. monitoring of its nuclear facilities.
At home, Iran’s economy struggled, and the theocratic regime faced a legitimacy deficit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who turned 85 in 2024, has no clear successor. Iran has appeared more vulnerable than at any point since the 1980-1988 war with Iraq.
USIP’s Work
USIP convenes experts, briefs lawmakers and presents comprehensive views of Iran’s internal politics and relationships with the rest of the world through fact-based research and analysis. USIP’s recent work includes:
Informing Policymakers, Academics and the Public
Reliable resources on Iran remain scarce, even as it increases as a global flash point. That dearth prompted USIP to convene 50 of the world’s top Iran scholars to contribute to the book, The Iran Primer: Power, Politics and U.S. Policy. The project has evolved, with new articles added consistently to The Iran Primer website.
Through a newly developed conference series, USIP is also exploring creative U.S. policy options for addressing the challenges posed by the alignment of Iran, China, Russia and North Korea. Bringing creative voices to the discussion, USIP is examining ways to undermine and deter cooperation among these four powers to help ensure America’s safety and security.
Through its focused research, USIP has become a leading source for timely analysis on Iran and its allies across the Middle East. As a result, USIP experts periodically brief members of Congress, officials from the Pentagon and State Department, the intelligence community, and U.S. service academies.
USIP is also in early-stage collaboration with U.S. Central Command on a strategic exercise to test military, diplomatic and economic approaches to mitigating the threat of the Houthis in Yemen. USIP seeks to advance understanding of shifting power dynamics in the region and evaluate key actors’ motivations and risk calculus.
The Iran Primer 'covers the tortuous diplomacy of every U.S. presidency from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama... as well as Iran’s relations with its neighbors and with China, Russia, and the EU. Concise, comprehensive, and well organized, this is a beautifully wrought handbook.'