Iran Dialogue Series Briefing Paper: Conflicting Timelines and Agendas, and the Road to Potential Revival of the JCPOA

By Dr. Sanam Vakil, deputy director of the Chatham House Middle East North Africa Programme and Dr. Gawdat Bahgat, professor of National Security Affairs at National Defense University’s Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies 19 April 2021 Introduction During his 2020 campaign for the White House, Joe Biden made clear his intention to Read More >

Iran and Regional Security

By NESA Professor Dr. Gawdat Bahgat 18 March 2021 In November 2020, only days before he was elected President of the United States, then-candidate Joseph Biden stated, “I will offer Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy. If Iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement as Read More >

Commentary on the Biden Administration’s “Interim National Security Strategic Guidance”

by NESA Professor Richard L. Russell 17 March 2021 The Biden administration has released an “Interim National Security Strategic Guidance.”[1] This interim report is intended to bridge the gap until the administration’s full national security strategy is published in the months ahead. Each presidential administration uses these national security strategies to share a general philosophy Read More >

Fast-Paced Diplomatic Effort to Jump Start Afghanistan Peace Process

by NESA Professor Ali Jalali 15 March 2021 Amid a renewed global push to end the long conflict in Afghanistan, key regional powers show support for a US plan to accelerate regional cooperation, and invigorate intra-Afghan talks on a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan. This comes in response to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s letter Read More >