Vali Nasr

Feb 25, 2025 | foreignaffairs.com | Vali Nasr |Christopher de Bellaigue |Suzanne Maloney |Richard N. Haass

Since October 7, 2023, the long arm of Iran has seemingly been everywhere in the crises that have beset the Middle East. With its eye on Hezbollah, Iran’s heavily armed Shiite ally in Lebanon, Israel was wholly unprepared for the devastating ground assault launched from Gaza by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that was also backed by the Islamic Republic.

Jan 14, 2025 | thesgnl.com | Michael Bluhm |Vali Nasr

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Dec 10, 2024 | foreignpolicy.com | Vali Nasr

Geopolitics Iran The cataclysmic events of the last few weeks in Lebanon and Syria—from Israel’s decimation of Hezbollah to the fall of the Assad regime—have opened a new chapter for the Middle East. The hope may be that the collapse of Iran’s so-called axis of resistance in the Levant augurs a period of peace and stability in the region.

Jul 11, 2024 | foreignaffairs.com | Maria Fantappie |Vali Nasr

During his first three years in office, U.S. President Joe Biden based his Middle East strategy on a single, straightforward project: normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Such a deal, Washington thought, would stabilize the tumultuous region and constrain an increasingly emboldened Iran. The United States would then be free to shift its resources away from the Middle East and toward Asia and Europe.

May 14, 2024 | almendron.com | Vali Nasr

The volley of attacks and counterattacks between Iran and Israel in the first two weeks of April drastically changed the strategic landscape in the Middle East. On April 1, an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including two generals. Two weeks later, Iran retaliated with a barrage of drones and missiles, almost all of which were intercepted.