AUTHOR'S BIO
Mehdi Khalaji
Mehdi Khalaji is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
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Iran’s Rattling Saber
Mehdi Khalaji Series: Islam 2011-11-30As the West ratchets up its economic pressure on Iran to halt its drive to develop nuclear weapons, the Islamic Republic’s rulers are not sitting idly by. Since Iran lacks the soft power and the economic capacity to counter Western pressure, its leaders will resort to threats, and even to force, as the recent attack on the British embassy in Tehran shows.... read Comments: 6 Recommended: 0 Read: 8900
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The Domestic Logic of Iran’s Foreign Plots
Mehdi Khalaji Series: Islam 2011-11-01
Though Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir is alive and well in Washington, the plot to assassinate him may have succeeded – if its aim was not to kill al-Jubeir, but rather President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s foreign policy. Indeed, the real target may have been Ahmadinejad's efforts to achieve a diplomatic opening with the US.... read Comments: 2 Recommended: 0 Read: 11708
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The Ayatollah and the Witches
Mehdi Khalaji Series: Islam 2011-06-01Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has now made the mistake that all Iranian presidents make. He has challenged the authority of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and he is bound to fail.... read Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 14608
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Iran’s Supreme Power Struggle
Mehdi Khalaji Series: Islam 2010-12-16
Iran's dysfunctionalforeign and nuclear policies reflect the tension between Iran's president and its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which is built into the Islamic Republic’s core. Consumed with their test of wills, they are unable to make well informed and nuanced decisions in their dealings with outsiders.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 21129
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Iran’s Republic of Fear
Mehdi Khalaji Series: Islam 
2010-01-18Iran’s clerical regime governs by a simple formula: he who is the most frightening, wins. But cultivating fear in others also makes one more susceptible to fear, and nothing is more frightening to the Islamic Republic's leaders than the social dynamism unleashed by the democratic movement brewing inside the country.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 12717
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Iran’s Muddled Presidential Politics
Mehdi Khalaji Series: The World in Words 2009-03-17
The most important question posed by Iran’s presidential election this June is not who will be elected, but what that choice will reveal about the intentions of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's next president may be able to adjust economic or social policies, but it is Khamenei who decides on the biggest issues: relations with the West and the country's nuclear program.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 12147
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Getting to Yes With Iran
Mehdi Khalaji Series: Islam 2008-02-18To resolve outstanding issues with Iran, the West should be dealing with the only person powerful enough to make deals and deliver concessions. That person is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 17331
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The Decline of Ahmedinejad
Mehdi Khalaji Series: The World in Words 2007-10-18Mahmoud Ahmedinejad may be gaining support across the Muslim world for his fervent criticism of the United States, but inside Iran, his political rivals are gaining new positions of power, and economic decline has alienated the public. American policymakers should bear in mind that only military confrontation could revive his position.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 16213
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Iran’s Political Clerics
Mehdi Khalaji Series: Islam 2006-10-26Iran’s theocratic regime appears more confident than ever. Its standoff with the West over its nuclear program, together with its ties to Syria and its growing influence in Lebanon and Iraq, suggest the emergence of a strong regional power. But, while Western analysts and Iran’s neighbors raise the alarm, the regime’s authority is in fact built on insecure foundations. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 23861
