{ "id": "R44017", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R44017", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "retrieved": "2021-02-14T04:04:04.883380", "id": "R44017_79_2021-01-11", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2021-01-11_R44017_4df1e86edfab6bb49fe450204ff3659a2bef5d80.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44017/79", "sha1": "4df1e86edfab6bb49fe450204ff3659a2bef5d80" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2021-01-11_R44017_4df1e86edfab6bb49fe450204ff3659a2bef5d80.html" } ], "date": "2021-01-11", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R44017", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 624136, "date": "2020-04-29", "retrieved": "2020-05-19T13:58:46.697564", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is arguably the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution, perception of threats to the regime and to the country, and long-standing national interests. Iran\u2019s leadership:\nSeeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nTakes advantage of regional conflicts to advance a broader goal of overturning a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nSeeks to restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nProvides material support to regional allied governments and armed factions, including increasingly precise missile systems that enable Iran to project power. \nSupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to annual State Department reports on international terrorism.\nBacks actions against international shipping in the Persian Gulf and in Iraq that represent, in part, an attempt to pressure the United States to relax sanctions on Iran. These actions have continued despite Iran\u2019s struggles with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak there. \nThe Trump Administration publicly demands that Iran end its Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities,\u201d as well as alter other objectionable behaviors, as conditions for a revised nuclear deal and normalization of relations with the United States. The Trump Administration has articulated U.S. strategy as \nApplying \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d on Iran\u2019s economy and regime through sanctions. President Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal on May 8, 2018, and reimposed all U.S. sanctions as of November 5, 2018. \nAttempting to diplomatically, politically, and economically isolate Iran. \nUndertaking retaliatory actions against attacks on U.S. forces and installations by Iran-backed forces in the region. \nDeploying additional U.S. forces to deter further Iran-backed attacks and interdicting Iranian arms shipments to its allies and proxies. \nTraining, arming, and providing counterterrorism assistance to partner governments and some allied substate actors in the region.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "c451f2e854f0e9c56443ffea6f42524ac9fe941f", "filename": "files/20200429_R44017_c451f2e854f0e9c56443ffea6f42524ac9fe941f.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/7.png": "files/20200429_R44017_images_cc58d3512666d5d2592dd7214ca738d85ffca28c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/6.png": "files/20200429_R44017_images_02411617becaa294b8fe3a2d4f255bf216176860.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20200429_R44017_images_b6d502533dae53fca4136761e9cb8e9ec0ff9a50.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20200429_R44017_images_1ef9734381111d8f8cea0c97a625948a26c87b70.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20200429_R44017_images_62bcaa27c999fc156b7446c264ddcbe5c944b4a3.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20200429_R44017_images_164426678a508e2931229e8cdf4da82f666ccc64.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/5.png": "files/20200429_R44017_images_bf8ac405e8e25260522f24a31aba03d0801c5be5.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20200429_R44017_images_d4d5900fdd82d93c62d2e8acd71b616d673d1025.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "9f9289d296639e8413d0a7e6169c7e80cf2e5aae", "filename": "files/20200429_R44017_9f9289d296639e8413d0a7e6169c7e80cf2e5aae.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 615387, "date": "2020-01-30", "retrieved": "2020-01-30T23:00:53.664828", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is arguably the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution, perception of threats to the regime and to the country, long-standing national interests, and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership:\nSeeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nHas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nSeeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nAdvances its national security goals in part by providing material support to regional allied governments and armed factions. Iranian officials characterize the support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs.\nSometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals. Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have supported Iran\u2019s integration into international diplomacy. \nSupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nUses Iran\u2019s military assets and proxies to try to achieve an easing of sanctions pressure. \nThe Administration insists that an end to Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d is a requirement of a revised nuclear deal and normalization of relations with the United States. The Trump Administration has articulated U.S. strategy as: \nApplying \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d on Iran\u2019s economy and regime through sanctions. President Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal on May 8, 2018, and reimposed all U.S. sanctions as of November 5, 2018. \nAttempting to diplomatically, politically, and economically isolate Iran. \nDeploying U.S. forces to deter Iran and interdict its arms shipments to its allies and proxies, and threatening military action against Iranian actions that threaten U.S. regional interests or allies.\nTraining, arming, and providing counterterrorism assistance to partner governments and some allied substate actors in the region.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "d1d8513e3715ce7557db2503e5f6052758890f8a", "filename": "files/20200130_R44017_d1d8513e3715ce7557db2503e5f6052758890f8a.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/7.png": "files/20200130_R44017_images_cc58d3512666d5d2592dd7214ca738d85ffca28c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/6.png": "files/20200130_R44017_images_02411617becaa294b8fe3a2d4f255bf216176860.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20200130_R44017_images_ad2b5cc2521feada647ec37284ae9fdd5304bb1f.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20200130_R44017_images_1ef9734381111d8f8cea0c97a625948a26c87b70.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20200130_R44017_images_62bcaa27c999fc156b7446c264ddcbe5c944b4a3.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20200130_R44017_images_164426678a508e2931229e8cdf4da82f666ccc64.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/5.png": "files/20200130_R44017_images_bf8ac405e8e25260522f24a31aba03d0801c5be5.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20200130_R44017_images_d4d5900fdd82d93c62d2e8acd71b616d673d1025.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "381c9dad5c438629d12bcec0dcd25f7416b93294", "filename": "files/20200130_R44017_381c9dad5c438629d12bcec0dcd25f7416b93294.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 606058, "date": "2019-10-08", "retrieved": "2019-10-10T22:18:06.632420", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution, perception of threats to the regime and to the country, long-standing national interests, and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership:\nSeeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nHas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nSeeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nAdvances its national security goals in part by providing material support to regional allied governments and armed factions. Iranian officials characterize the support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs.\nSometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals. Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have supported Iran\u2019s integration into international diplomacy. \nSupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nUses Iran\u2019s military assets and proxies to try to achieve an easing of sanctions pressure. \nThe Administration insists that an end to Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d is a requirement of a revised nuclear deal normalization of relations with the United States. The Trump Administration has articulated U.S. strategy as: \nApplying \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d on Iran\u2019s economy and regime through sanctions. President Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal on May 8, 2018, and reimposed all U.S. sanctions as of November 5, 2018. \nAttempting to diplomatically, politically, and economically isolate Iran. \nTraining, arming, and providing counterterrorism assistance to partner governments and some allied substate actors in the region. \nDeploying U.S. forces to deter Iran and interdict its arms shipments to its allies and proxies, and threatening military action against Iranian actions that pose an immediate threat to U.S. regional interests or allies.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "8f99d76c65ad49a29aa87b67e28d27687854f51c", "filename": "files/20191008_R44017_8f99d76c65ad49a29aa87b67e28d27687854f51c.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/7.png": "files/20191008_R44017_images_cc58d3512666d5d2592dd7214ca738d85ffca28c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/6.png": "files/20191008_R44017_images_02411617becaa294b8fe3a2d4f255bf216176860.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20191008_R44017_images_ad2b5cc2521feada647ec37284ae9fdd5304bb1f.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20191008_R44017_images_1ef9734381111d8f8cea0c97a625948a26c87b70.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20191008_R44017_images_62bcaa27c999fc156b7446c264ddcbe5c944b4a3.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20191008_R44017_images_164426678a508e2931229e8cdf4da82f666ccc64.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/5.png": "files/20191008_R44017_images_bf8ac405e8e25260522f24a31aba03d0801c5be5.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20191008_R44017_images_d4d5900fdd82d93c62d2e8acd71b616d673d1025.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "edfe2910dd513af2f3f28e8fe49485c309559818", "filename": "files/20191008_R44017_edfe2910dd513af2f3f28e8fe49485c309559818.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 602654, "date": "2019-07-23", "retrieved": "2019-07-23T22:12:48.549571", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution, perception of threats to the regime and to the country, long-standing national interests, and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership:\nSeeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nHas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nSeeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nAdvances its foreign policy goals, in part by providing material support to regional allied governments and armed factions. Iranian officials characterize the support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs.\nSometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals. Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have supported Iran\u2019s integration into regional and international diplomacy. \nSupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nThe Administration insists that an end to Iran\u2019s malign activities is a requirement of any revised JCPOA and normalization of relations with the United States. The Trump Administration has articulated a strategy to counter Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d based on: \nApplying \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d on Iran\u2019s economy and regime through sanctions. President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and reimposed all U.S. sanctions as of November 5, 2018. \nAttempting to diplomatically, politically, and economically isolate Iran. \nTraining, arming, and providing counterterrorism assistance to partner governments and some allied substate actors in the region. \nDeploying U.S. forces to deter Iran and interdict its arms shipments to its allies and proxies, and threatening military action against Iranian actions that pose an immediate threat to U.S. regional interests or allies.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "5ddb87caef62d68c81a8fa0645482193021b6491", "filename": "files/20190723_R44017_5ddb87caef62d68c81a8fa0645482193021b6491.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/7.png": "files/20190723_R44017_images_cc58d3512666d5d2592dd7214ca738d85ffca28c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/6.png": "files/20190723_R44017_images_02411617becaa294b8fe3a2d4f255bf216176860.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190723_R44017_images_ad2b5cc2521feada647ec37284ae9fdd5304bb1f.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190723_R44017_images_1ef9734381111d8f8cea0c97a625948a26c87b70.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20190723_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190723_R44017_images_164426678a508e2931229e8cdf4da82f666ccc64.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/5.png": "files/20190723_R44017_images_bf8ac405e8e25260522f24a31aba03d0801c5be5.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20190723_R44017_images_d4d5900fdd82d93c62d2e8acd71b616d673d1025.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "1bf3a77bc759470fb8e689ee3dc7052011b67675", "filename": "files/20190723_R44017_1bf3a77bc759470fb8e689ee3dc7052011b67675.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 597954, "date": "2019-05-08", "retrieved": "2019-05-08T22:04:12.825978", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution, perception of threats to the regime and to the country, long-standing national interests, and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership:\nSeeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nHas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nSeeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nAdvances its foreign policy goals, in part by providing material support to regional allied governments and armed factions. Iranian officials characterize the support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs.\nSometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals. Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif support Iran\u2019s integration into regional and international diplomacy. \nSupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nThe Administration insists that an end to Iran\u2019s malign activities is a requirement of any revised JCPOA and normalization of relations with the United States. The Trump Administration has articulated a strategy to counter Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d based on: \nApplying \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d on Iran\u2019s economy and regime through sanctions. President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and reimposed all U.S. sanctions as of November 5, 2018. \nAttempting to diplomatically, politically, and economically isolate Iran. \nTraining, arming, and providing counterterrorism assistance to partner governments and some allied substate actors in the region. \nDeploying U.S. forces to deter Iran and interdict its arms shipments to its allies and proxies. \nIndirectly threatening military action against Iranian actions that pose an immediate threat to U.S. regional interests or allies.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "436c6a318c6251983f5f0907ac7d6548c7177e86", "filename": "files/20190508_R44017_436c6a318c6251983f5f0907ac7d6548c7177e86.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/7.png": "files/20190508_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/6.png": "files/20190508_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190508_R44017_images_ad2b5cc2521feada647ec37284ae9fdd5304bb1f.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190508_R44017_images_1ef9734381111d8f8cea0c97a625948a26c87b70.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20190508_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190508_R44017_images_164426678a508e2931229e8cdf4da82f666ccc64.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/5.png": "files/20190508_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20190508_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "9aa7f84a292348243c298b01d273b380a45a4ebf", "filename": "files/20190508_R44017_9aa7f84a292348243c298b01d273b380a45a4ebf.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 593961, "date": "2019-03-15", "retrieved": "2019-04-17T14:02:08.484162", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership:\nSeeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nHas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nSeeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nAdvances its foreign policy goals, in part by providing material support to regional allied governments and armed factions. Iranian officials characterize the support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs.\nSometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals. Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif support Iran\u2019s integration into regional and international diplomacy. \nSupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nThe Administration insists that an end to Iran\u2019s malign activities is a requirement of any revised JCPOA and normalization of relations with the United States. The Trump Administration has articulated a strategy to counter Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d based on: \nPressuring Iran economically through U.S. and multilateral sanctions. President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and reimposed all U.S. sanctions as of November 5, 2018. \nAttempting to diplomatically, politically, and economically isolate Iran. \nTraining, arming, and providing counterterrorism assistance to partner governments and some allied substate actors in the region. \nDeploying some U.S. forces in the region to deter Iran or interdict its arms shipments to its allies and proxies. \nIndirectly threatening military action against Iranian actions that pose an immediate threat to U.S. regional interests or allies.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "c329f0399b536b6837ceb2be07f312de798960e1", "filename": "files/20190315_R44017_c329f0399b536b6837ceb2be07f312de798960e1.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/7.png": "files/20190315_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/6.png": "files/20190315_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190315_R44017_images_ad2b5cc2521feada647ec37284ae9fdd5304bb1f.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190315_R44017_images_1ef9734381111d8f8cea0c97a625948a26c87b70.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20190315_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190315_R44017_images_164426678a508e2931229e8cdf4da82f666ccc64.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/5.png": "files/20190315_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20190315_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "8811b182dd7da51fe2ee4b38c2c9268517587b40", "filename": "files/20190315_R44017_8811b182dd7da51fe2ee4b38c2c9268517587b40.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 589877, "date": "2019-01-16", "retrieved": "2019-01-16T23:08:22.399161", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership:\nSeeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nHas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nSeeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nProvides material support to allied governments and armed factions such as the Asad regime in Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Bahraini militant groups. Iranian officials characterize this support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nHas sought to use sanctions relief provided by the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. \nSometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nSupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nThe Trump Administration has articulated a strategy to counter Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d and its behavior more broadly, based on pressuring Iran economically through sanctions. Arguing that the JCPOA-related sanctions relief enhanced Iran\u2019s ability to exert influence in the region, President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and reimposed all U.S. sanctions by November 4, 2018. Additionally, the Administration strategy for countering Iran\u2019s malign activities includes training, arming, and providing counterterrorism assistance to partner governments and some allied substate actors in the region. Some U.S. forces in the region are deployed to deter Iran or interdict its arms shipments to its allies and proxies. President Trump and other senior U.S. officials also have indirectly threatened military action against Iranian actions that pose an immediate threat to U.S. regional interests or allies. In late September 2018, the Administration issued a report (\u201cOutlaw Regime: A Chronicle of Iran\u2019s Destructive Activities\u201d) outlining Iran\u2019s malign activities as well as a litany of other activities the Administration termed \u201cthe Iranian regime\u2019s destructive behavior at home and abroad.\u201d The Administration insists that an end to Iran\u2019s malign activities is a requirement of any revised JCPOA and normalization of relations with the United States.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "32f85cc89cdde2a44bfa4ba11d59fdfb9e85eb6c", "filename": "files/20190116_R44017_32f85cc89cdde2a44bfa4ba11d59fdfb9e85eb6c.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/7.png": "files/20190116_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/6.png": "files/20190116_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190116_R44017_images_ad2b5cc2521feada647ec37284ae9fdd5304bb1f.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20190116_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190116_R44017_images_1ef9734381111d8f8cea0c97a625948a26c87b70.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190116_R44017_images_164426678a508e2931229e8cdf4da82f666ccc64.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/5.png": "files/20190116_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20190116_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "bda183bfa100b1e19ece962a9dc046f993d3d549", "filename": "files/20190116_R44017_bda183bfa100b1e19ece962a9dc046f993d3d549.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "retrieved": "2021-02-14T04:04:04.872191", "id": "R44017_60_2019-01-15", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2019-01-15_R44017_ed23456a4cdb2ed082916347b48a323166b28ee0.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44017/60", "sha1": "ed23456a4cdb2ed082916347b48a323166b28ee0" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2019-01-15_R44017_ed23456a4cdb2ed082916347b48a323166b28ee0.html" } ], "date": "2019-01-15", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R44017", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 588742, "date": "2018-12-11", "retrieved": "2018-12-19T14:02:50.724658", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership:\nSeeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nHas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nSeeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nProvides material support to allied governments and armed factions such as the Asad regime in Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Bahraini militant groups. Iranian officials characterize this support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nHas sought to use sanctions relief provided by the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. \nSometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nSupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nThe Trump Administration has articulated a strategy to counter Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d and its behavior more broadly, based on pressuring Iran economically through sanctions. Arguing that the JCPOA-related sanctions relief enhanced Iran\u2019s ability to exert influence in the region, President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and reimposed all U.S. sanctions by November 4, 2018. Additionally, the Administration strategy for countering Iran\u2019s malign activities includes training, arming, and providing counterterrorism assistance to partner governments and some allied substate actors in the region. Some U.S. forces in the region are deployed to deter Iran or interdict its arms shipments to its allies and proxies. President Trump and other senior U.S. officials also have indirectly threatened military action against Iranian actions that pose an immediate threat to U.S. regional interests or allies. In late September 2018, the Administration issued a report (\u201cOutlaw Regime: A Chronicle of Iran\u2019s Destructive Activities\u201d) broadly indicting Iran\u2019s malign activities as well as a litany of other activities the Administration termed \u201cthe Iranian regime\u2019s destructive behavior at home and abroad.\u201d The Administration insists that an end to Iran\u2019s malign activities is a requirement of any revised JCPOA and normalization of relations with the United States.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "5d99d70fc5a166cb4f7debc8d82e39d6e72adc96", "filename": "files/20181211_R44017_5d99d70fc5a166cb4f7debc8d82e39d6e72adc96.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20181211_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20181211_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20181211_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20181211_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20181211_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "935fc05ca3d9ad969dc098e52d6bf66175ee74f3", "filename": "files/20181211_R44017_935fc05ca3d9ad969dc098e52d6bf66175ee74f3.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 586201, "date": "2018-10-09", "retrieved": "2018-10-12T13:17:34.759018", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership\nseeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nhas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nseeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nprovides material support to allied governments and armed factions such as the Asad regime in Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Bahraini militant groups. Iranian officials characterize this support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nhas sought to use sanctions relief provided by the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. \nsometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nsupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nThe Trump Administration has articulated a strategy to counter Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d and its behavior more broadly, based primarily on reducing Iran\u2019s financial resources. The Administration argued that the JCPOA failed to address Iran\u2019s regional activities and, partly on these grounds, President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and announced that all U.S. sanctions would be reimposed. Additional aspects of Administration strategy for countering Iran\u2019s malign activities\u2014which include working with partner governments and factions in the region\u2014are enumerated in a report submitted to Congress in late August 2018, a report mandated by the Countering America\u2019s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (P.L. 115-44). President Trump and other senior U.S. officials also have indirectly threatened military action against Iranian actions that pose an immediate threat to U.S. regional interests or allies. In late September 2018, the Administration issued a report (\u201cOutlaw Regime: A Chronicle of Iran\u2019s Destructive Activities\u201d) broadly indicting Iran\u2019s malign activities as well as a litany of other activities the Administration termed \u201cIranian regime\u2019s destructive behavior at home and abroad.\u201d", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "31d5a52026d91157eb3bbb353d09bbcb068677c1", "filename": "files/20181009_R44017_31d5a52026d91157eb3bbb353d09bbcb068677c1.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20181009_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20181009_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20181009_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20181009_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20181009_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "5105138bfd2bf8f45f3aab89e30fddd6d9472abc", "filename": "files/20181009_R44017_5105138bfd2bf8f45f3aab89e30fddd6d9472abc.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 585662, "date": "2018-09-25", "retrieved": "2018-10-05T22:16:40.032481", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership\nseeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nhas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nseeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nprovides material support to allied governments and armed factions such as the Asad regime in Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Bahraini militant groups. Iranian officials characterize this support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nhas sought to use sanctions relief provided by the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. \nsometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nsupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nThe Trump Administration has developed a strategy that it asserts can counter Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d and potentially change Iran\u2019s behavior more broadly. The Administration argued that the JCPOA failed to address Iran\u2019s objectionable behavior beyond its nuclear program and, partly on these grounds, President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and announced that all U.S. sanctions would be reimposed. The Administration asserts that sanctions will deny Iran the resources to carry out malign activities beyond its borders. President Trump is expected to highlight Iran\u2019s destabilizing foreign policy activities when he chairs a U.N. Security Council meeting on September 26, 2018. Additional aspects of Administration strategy for countering Iran\u2019s malign activities\u2014which include working with partner governments and factions in the region\u2014are enumerated in a report submitted to Congress in late August 2018, a report mandated by the Countering America\u2019s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (P.L. 115-44).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "c1a92cbef09d69893d0250dc49d2c59129f6f52d", "filename": "files/20180925_R44017_c1a92cbef09d69893d0250dc49d2c59129f6f52d.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180925_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180925_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180925_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180925_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20180925_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "ba49838ab935e98be5da26e19e9696b06b5d3285", "filename": "files/20180925_R44017_ba49838ab935e98be5da26e19e9696b06b5d3285.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 585569, "date": "2018-09-24", "retrieved": "2018-09-25T13:07:09.347579", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership: \nseeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nhas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nseeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nprovides material support to allied governments and armed factions such as the Asad regime in Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Bahraini militant groups. Iranian officials characterize this support as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nhas sought to use sanctions relief provided by the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. \nsometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nSupports acts of international terrorism, as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. \nThe Trump Administration has developed a strategy that it asserts can counter Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d and potentially change Iran\u2019s behavior more broadly. The Administration argued that the JCPOA failed to address Iran\u2019s objectionable behavior beyond its nuclear program and, partly on these grounds, President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and announced that all U.S. sanctions would be reimposed. The Administration asserts that sanctions will deny Iran the resources to prjcarry out malign activities beyond its borders\nhalt or aleregional influence and Israeli leaders identify Iran\u2019s significant presence in Syria as a growing\u2014and unacceptable\u2014threat to Israel\u2019s security. \n. Additional aspects of Administration strategy for countering Iran\u2019s malign activities\u2014which include working with partner governments and factions in the region\u2014are enumerated in a report submitted to Congress in late August 2018, a report mandated by the Countering America\u2019s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (P.L. 115-44).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "e4332fccd8106486c1953c632d6a4438287bba76", "filename": "files/20180924_R44017_e4332fccd8106486c1953c632d6a4438287bba76.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180924_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180924_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180924_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180924_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20180924_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "6909d00fad14f3e6baac268c6e6a3a7164caa9e4", "filename": "files/20180924_R44017_6909d00fad14f3e6baac268c6e6a3a7164caa9e4.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 584910, "date": "2018-09-11", "retrieved": "2018-09-12T22:16:18.448396", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership: \nseeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nhas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran\u2019s leaders assert favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nseeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \ncharacterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nhas sought to use the sanctions relief provided by the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. U.S. officials assert that sanctions easing has provided Iran with additional financial resources to further its regional interventions. \nsometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nOf significant concern to successive U.S. Administrations is Iran\u2019s provision of material support to its allied governments and armed factions such as the Asad regime in Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Bahraini militant groups. Several of Iran\u2019s allies have conducted acts of international terrorism, and each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s has described Iran as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism. Israeli leaders identify Iran\u2019s significant presence in Syria as a growing\u2014and unacceptable\u2014threat to Israel\u2019s security. \nThe Trump Administration has cited Iran\u2019s regional \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert that \u201cIran\u2019s provocative actions threaten the United States, [and] the [Middle East] region,\u201d and that the JCPOA failed to address Iran\u2019s objectionable behavior beyond its nuclear program. It was partly on these grounds that President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and announced that all U.S. sanctions would be reimposed. The Administration asserts that sanctions will deny Iran the resources to carry out malign activities beyond its borders. Additional aspects of Administration strategy for countering Iran\u2019s malign activities\u2014which include working with partner governments and factions in the region\u2014are enumerated in a report submitted to Congress in late August 2018, a report mandated by the Countering America\u2019s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (P.L. 115-44).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "fa23d375d4ee32fea98333c2807e771aaccf6ba1", "filename": "files/20180911_R44017_fa23d375d4ee32fea98333c2807e771aaccf6ba1.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180911_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180911_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180911_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20180911_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180911_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "a271363810d750475eca820eec0fa4725d612dde", "filename": "files/20180911_R44017_a271363810d750475eca820eec0fa4725d612dde.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 584240, "date": "2018-07-18", "retrieved": "2018-08-29T15:14:35.814989", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership \nseeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. \nhas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran\u2019s leaders assert favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nseeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \ncharacterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as helping the region\u2019s \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nhas sought to use the sanctions relief provided by the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. U.S. officials assert that sanctions easing has provided Iran with additional financial resources to further its regional interventions. \nsometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nOf significant concern to successive U.S. Administrations is Iran\u2019s provision of material support to its allied governments and armed factions such as the Asad regime in Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Bahraini militant groups. Several of Iran\u2019s allies have conducted acts of international terrorism, and each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s has described Iran as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism. Israeli leaders identify Iran\u2019s significant presence in Syria as a growing\u2014and unacceptable\u2014threat to Israel\u2019s security. \nThe Trump Administration has cited Iran\u2019s regional \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert that \u201cIran\u2019s provocative actions threaten the United States, [and] the [Middle East] region,\u201d and that the JCPOA has failed to address Iran\u2019s objectionable behavior beyond its nuclear program. It was partly on these grounds that President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and announced that all U.S. sanctions would be reimposed. Although the Administration has articulated an overall strategy for Iran that includes rolling back its regional influence, neither the President nor Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced specific new steps or committed additional U.S. resources to accomplish that objective.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "2da17d0f4f12c2f373b58d9314cceb9b2afbb867", "filename": "files/20180718_R44017_2da17d0f4f12c2f373b58d9314cceb9b2afbb867.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180718_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20180718_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180718_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180718_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180718_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "f4b665f5ec7381eca3f64972cb4613916659039a", "filename": "files/20180718_R44017_f4b665f5ec7381eca3f64972cb4613916659039a.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 581413, "date": "2018-05-23", "retrieved": "2018-05-24T22:05:00.568399", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leaders\u2019 perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Iran\u2019s leadership: \nseeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it, or to change its regime. \nhas sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nseeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \ncharacterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nattempts to use the sanctions relief provided by the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. The sanctions easing has provided Iran with additional financial resources that U.S. officials assert has been used to further its regional interventions. Protests in Iran during January 2018 indicated that many Iranians oppose using substantial Iranian resources abroad. \nsometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nOf significant concern to successive U.S. administrations is Iran\u2019s provision of material support to its allied governments and armed factions such as Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Bahrain militant groups. Several of Iran\u2019s allies have conducted acts of international terrorism and each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s has described Iran as the \u201cleading\u201d or \u201cmost active\u201d state sponsor of terrorism. Israeli leaders identify Iran\u2019s significant presence in Syria as a growing\u2014and unacceptable\u2014threat to Israel\u2019s security. The Trump Administration has cited Iran\u2019s regional \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert that \u201cIran\u2019s provocative actions threaten the United States, [and] the [Middle East] region,\u201d and that the JCPOA has failed to address Iran\u2019s objectionable behavior beyond its nuclear program. It was partly because the JCPOA did not curb Iran\u2019s regional malign activities\u2014and provided Iran additional financial resources to carry on those activities\u2014that President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and announced that all U.S. sanctions would be reimposed. However, neither the President nor Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have announced specific new steps to blunt Iran\u2019s regional influence, and experts note that sanctions alone are likely to be ineffective in accomplishing that objective.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "2754fb761f707174dd260221092acbb890603a6a", "filename": "files/20180523_R44017_2754fb761f707174dd260221092acbb890603a6a.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180523_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180523_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180523_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180523_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20180523_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "ed93770a015eddbf511ee7eb00501bf80c7f49be", "filename": "files/20180523_R44017_ed93770a015eddbf511ee7eb00501bf80c7f49be.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 579518, "date": "2018-03-20", "retrieved": "2018-04-03T13:36:34.707156", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leaders\u2019 perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. The main themes in Iranian policy are the following:\nIran seeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it, or to change its regime. \nIran has sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nIran seeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nIran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nIran is attempting to use the sanctions relief provided by the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. The sanctions easing has provided Iran with additional financial resources, although it is not clear whether Iran has deployed significant additional resources on its regional interventions. Protests in Iran during January 2018 indicated that many Iranians oppose using substantial Iranian resources abroad. \nSupreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nOf significant concern to successive U.S. administrations is Iran\u2019s provision of material support to its allied governments such Syria, and to regional armed factions such as Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Bahrain militant groups. Several of Iran\u2019s allies and proxies have conducted acts of international terrorism and, for several decades, an annual State Department report on international terrorism has described Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Israeli leaders identify Iran\u2019s significant presence in Syria as a growing\u2014and unacceptable\u2014threat to Israel\u2019s security. The Trump Administration has cited Iran\u2019s regional \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert that \u201cIran\u2019s provocative actions threaten the United States, [and] the [Middle East] region,\u201d and that the JCPOA has failed to address Iran\u2019s objectionable behavior beyond its nuclear program. The Trump Administration and the 115th Congress have imposed additional sanctions on Iran\u2019s missile program and conventional arms purchases. The Administration has supported efforts by regional allies to counter Iran and deployed troops to some regional conflicts partly for the purpose of containing Iran. On October 13, 2017, President Trump asked Congress and U.S. allies to address the JCPOA\u2019s weaknesses, including its lack of curbs on Iran\u2019s missile program or on Iran\u2019s support for regional armed factions\u2014and threatened to end U.S. participation in the JCPOA unless such steps are taken. However, the President did not outline specific new steps to blunt Iran\u2019s regional influence beyond modest new sanctions on the IRGC. Sanctions alone have been ineffective, to date, in reducing Iran\u2019s regional influence.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "3528d62794f7c476f1d36c6c57b4b8f9166aec59", "filename": "files/20180320_R44017_3528d62794f7c476f1d36c6c57b4b8f9166aec59.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180320_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180320_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180320_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180320_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20180320_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "11b2d6e5ec750b9c0493566501aad96840ae45be", "filename": "files/20180320_R44017_11b2d6e5ec750b9c0493566501aad96840ae45be.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 577773, "date": "2018-01-19", "retrieved": "2018-01-26T14:24:34.549598", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leaders\u2019 perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. \nIran seeks to ensure that U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it or to change its regime cannot succeed. \nIran has sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. \nIran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. \nIran seeks to enhance its international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. \nThe July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) eased international sanctions on Iran and facilitated its efforts to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. The sanctions easing has provided Iran with additional financial resources to expand its regional influence further, although it is not clear whether Iran has deployed additional resources for this purpose. Protests in Iran during December 2017-January 2018 indicated that many Iranians oppose using substantial Iranian resources for regional interventions. \nSupreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s national security core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nOf significant concern to successive U.S. administrations is Iran\u2019s provision of material support to armed groups, some of which have conducted acts of international terrorism. For several decades, an annual State Department report on international terrorism has described Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-led allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, and factions such as Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and Bahrain militant groups, has fueled Sunni popular resentment. The Trump Administration has cited Iran\u2019s regional \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert that \u201cIran\u2019s provocative actions threaten the United States, [and] the [Middle East] region,\u201d and that the JCPOA has failed to address Iran\u2019s objectionable behavior beyond its nuclear program. The Trump Administration and the 115th Congress have imposed additional sanctions on Iran\u2019s missile program and conventional arms purchases, and the Administration has sought to forge a regional coalition to counter Iran and deployed troops to some regional conflicts partly for the purpose of containing Iran. On October 13, 2017, President Trump asked Congress and U.S. allies to address the JCPOA\u2019s weaknesses, including its lack of curbs on Iran\u2019s missile program or on Iran\u2019s support for regional armed factions\u2014and threatened to end U.S. participation in the JCPOA unless such steps are taken. However, the President did not outline specific new steps to blunt Iran\u2019s regional influence beyond modest new sanctions on the IRGC. Sanctions alone have been ineffective, to date, in reducing Iran\u2019s regional influence.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "b00c3cb2b0a764a3590ee17cf3aa94484791ea76", "filename": "files/20180119_R44017_b00c3cb2b0a764a3590ee17cf3aa94484791ea76.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180119_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20180119_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180119_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180119_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180119_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "354db23add1a39cab2be3fb60bc29c51cee1bda8", "filename": "files/20180119_R44017_354db23add1a39cab2be3fb60bc29c51cee1bda8.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 575264, "date": "2017-11-07", "retrieved": "2017-11-09T14:10:38.023414", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leaders\u2019 perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. One aspect of Iran\u2019s national security strategy is to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran as primarily to protect itself from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it or to change its regime. Iran might additionally be seeking to enhance its international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. During 2010-2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy also sought to blunt the effects of international sanctions. Iran\u2019s policy also seems intended to influence the policies and actions of other big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, as partners of the United States or as antagonists of U.S. actions in the region. \nIran employs a number of different national security policy tools, including traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Of greater concern to U.S. officials is that Iran advances its interests by providing material support to armed groups, some of which conduct acts of international terrorism. For several decades, an annual State Department report on international terrorism has described Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, and factions such as Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and Bahrain militant groups, has fueled Sunni popular resentment. The July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) has eased Iran\u2019s international diplomatic isolation and provided Iran with opportunities to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nSome experts predicted that the lifting of international sanctions in January 2016 in accordance with the JCPOA would enable Iran to expand its regional influence further, whereas the Obama Administration assessed that the JCPOA would cause Iran to moderate its regional behavior in order not to jeopardize the agreement and its benefits. The Trump Administration has cited Iran\u2019s regional \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert that \u201cIran\u2019s provocative actions threaten the United States, [and] the [Middle East] region,\u201d and that the JCPOA has failed to address Iran\u2019s objectionable behavior beyond its nuclear program. The Administration has, to date, sanctioned additional Iran missile entities, sought to forge a regional coalition to counter Iran, and signed into law new legislation sanctioning Iran\u2019s regional activities and missile program (the Countering America\u2019s Adversaries through Sanctions Act, P.L. 115-44). On October 13, 2017, President Trump asked Congress and U.S. allies to address the JCPOA\u2019s weaknesses, including its lack of curbs on Iran\u2019s missile program or on Iran\u2019s support for regional armed factions\u2014and threatened to end U.S. participation in the JCPOA unless such steps are taken. However, the President did not outline specific new steps to blunt Iran\u2019s regional influence beyond modest new sanctions on the IRGC. Sanctions alone have been ineffective, to date, in reducing Iran\u2019s regional influence.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "23e8cb77c673830e8e90188a0dbfbea133731644", "filename": "files/20171107_R44017_23e8cb77c673830e8e90188a0dbfbea133731644.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20171107_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20171107_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20171107_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20171107_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20171107_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "381d6a0755c11c2db33c4c918160ece8bb4fd862", "filename": "files/20171107_R44017_381d6a0755c11c2db33c4c918160ece8bb4fd862.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 573362, "date": "2017-09-22", "retrieved": "2017-10-02T22:12:36.841670", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leaders\u2019 perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. One aspect of Iran\u2019s national security strategy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran as primarily attempting to protect itself from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it or to change its regime. Iran might additionally be seeking to enhance its international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. During 2010-2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy also sought to blunt the effects of international sanctions. Iran\u2019s policy also seems intended to influence the policies and actions of other big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, as partners of the United States or as antagonists of U.S. actions in the region. \nIran employs a number of different national security policy tools, including traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Of greater concern to U.S. officials is that Iran advances its interests by providing material support to armed groups, some of which conduct acts of international terrorism. For several decades, an annual State Department report on international terrorism has described Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, and factions such as Lebanese Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and Bahrain militant groups, has fueled Sunni popular resentment. The July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) has eased Iran\u2019s international diplomatic isolation and provided Iran with opportunities to emerge as a regional energy and trade hub and to negotiate future weapons buys. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nSome experts predicted that the lifting of international sanctions in January 2016 in accordance with the JCPOA would enable Iran to expand its regional influence further, whereas the Obama Administration assessed that the JCPOA would cause Iran to moderate its regional behavior in order not to jeopardize the agreement and its benefits. The Trump Administration has cited Iran\u2019s regional \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert that \u201cIran\u2019s provocative actions threaten the United States, [and] the [Middle East] region,\u201d and that the JCPOA has failed to address Iran\u2019s objectionable behavior beyond its nuclear program. The Administration has, to date, sanctioned additional Iran missile entities, sought to forge a regional coalition to counter Iran, and signed into law new legislation sanctioning Iran\u2019s regional activities and missile program (the Countering America\u2019s Adversaries through Sanctions Act, P.L. 115-44). Administration officials say they seek to modify the JCPOA or generate an additional multilateral agreement that might address these issues. However, Iran\u2019s activities appear to be shaped more by the political and situational opportunities for Iran to exert influence rather than by the financial resources available to Iran.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "6b1402674aace01fa48b273fd519c052999bd4b1", "filename": "files/20170922_R44017_6b1402674aace01fa48b273fd519c052999bd4b1.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20170922_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20170922_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170922_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20170922_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20170922_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "b398667c2088720521a12f418273483c064e8633", "filename": "files/20170922_R44017_b398667c2088720521a12f418273483c064e8633.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 463025, "date": "2017-08-02", "retrieved": "2017-08-22T13:38:32.858447", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership\u2019s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Some experts assert that the goal of Iran\u2019s national security strategy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran as primarily attempting to protect itself from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it or to change its regime. Iran might additionally be seeking to enhance its international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of the ancient Persian empires. From 2010 until 2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy included an additional focus on mitigating the effects of international sanctions.\nIran employs a number of different national security policy tools, including traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Of greater concern to U.S. officials is that Iran advances its interests by providing material support to armed groups, some of which conduct acts of international terrorism. For several decades, an annual State Department report on international terrorism has described Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, has fueled Sunni popular resentment. Iran also has financially supported regional politicians and leaders. Iran has used the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to ease its international diplomatic isolation, to try to develop itself as a regional energy and trade hub, and to negotiate future weapons buys. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s core goals, but support the reintegration into regional and international diplomacy that is advocated by Iran\u2019s elected president, Hassan Rouhani. \nIran\u2019s national security policy focuses most intently on the Near East region, and in particular on U.S. operations, allies, and activities there. Iran\u2019s policy also seems to be directed at influencing the policies and actions of other big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, as partners of the United States or as antagonists of U.S. actions in the region. \nSome experts forecasted that the lifting of international sanctions in January 2016 in accordance with the JCPOA would enable Iran to expand its regional influence further. The Obama Administration assessed that the JCPOA would cause Iran to moderate its regional behavior in order not to jeopardize the agreement and its benefits. During 2016, Obama Administration officials and U.S. reports asserted that there was little, if any, alteration of Iran\u2019s national security policies. The Trump Administration has cited Iran\u2019s regional \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert that Iran \u201cis now feeling emboldened\u201d and that \u201cIran\u2019s provocative actions threaten the United States, the [Middle East] region, and the world.\u201d While undertaking a comprehensive policy review on Iran, the Administration has to date sanctioned additional Iran missile entities under existing authorities and sought to forge a regional coalition to counter Iran. However, Iran\u2019s activities appear to be shaped more by the political and situational opportunities for Iran to exert influence rather than by the financial resources available to Iran.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "071f4d55b3c12fa1b52d24ea6b5b794c187da6b9", "filename": "files/20170802_R44017_071f4d55b3c12fa1b52d24ea6b5b794c187da6b9.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/1.png": "files/20170802_R44017_images_e0b7971547d707f624080626e873beaa5d009a80.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/4.png": "files/20170802_R44017_images_c7ab6e3d9cda16f008f713ab6a84e370dff9f082.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170802_R44017_images_6a236218d02b1dd05266cf22e8ffef90433f6e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/3.png": "files/20170802_R44017_images_0e90fe03fdacb95a7a97c468b47114527f065f4a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44017_files&id=/2.png": "files/20170802_R44017_images_b732a9f0656f8a6c60a50c501c2312a9d36448ae.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "2eae1702fdcd3ce449c2a769706bed8ab44476a3", "filename": "files/20170802_R44017_2eae1702fdcd3ce449c2a769706bed8ab44476a3.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 462026, "date": "2017-06-15", "retrieved": "2017-06-26T15:55:33.989677", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership\u2019s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Some experts assert that the goal of Iran\u2019s national security strategy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran as primarily attempting to protect itself from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it or to change its regime. Iran might, alternatively or additionally, be seeking to enhance its international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of the ancient Persian empires. From 2010 until 2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy focused on attempting to mitigate the effects of international sanctions on Iran.\nIran employs a number of different national security policy tools, including traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Of greater concern to U.S. officials is that Iran advances its interests by providing material support to armed groups, some of which conduct acts of international terrorism. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, has fueled Sunni popular resentment. Iran also has financially supported regional politicians and leaders. Iran has used the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) to ease its international diplomatic isolation and to try to develop itself as a regional energy and trade hub and to explore new weapons buys. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s core goals, but support Iran\u2019s reintegration into regional and international diplomacy. \nIran\u2019s national security policy focuses most intently on the Near East region, including on U.S. operations, allies, and activities in that region. Iran\u2019s policy also seems to be directed at influencing the policies and actions of big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, as partners of Iran and/or antagonists of U.S. actions in the region. \nSome experts forecast that the lifting of international sanctions in January 2016 in accordance with the JCPOA would enable Iran to expand its regional influence further. The Obama Administration assessed that the JCPOA would cause Iran to moderate its regional behavior in order not to jeopardize the agreement and its benefits. During 2016, Obama Administration officials and U.S. reports asserted that there was little, if any, alteration of Iran\u2019s national security policies. The Trump Administration has cited Iran\u2019s regional \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests to assert that Iran \u201cis now feeling emboldened\u201d and that \u201cIran\u2019s provocative actions threaten the United States, the [Middle East] region, and the world.\u201d The Administration has begun a comprehensive policy review, sanctioned additional Iran missile entities under existing authorities, and sought to forge a regional coalition to counter Iran.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "83753f27aff10eeba172d9bef0a51efecf1e2097", "filename": "files/20170615_R44017_83753f27aff10eeba172d9bef0a51efecf1e2097.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "f8981d653e331c7cb856d2a2168e9d9f152c555d", "filename": "files/20170615_R44017_f8981d653e331c7cb856d2a2168e9d9f152c555d.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 460456, "date": "2017-04-06", "retrieved": "2017-04-17T18:25:33.144332", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership\u2019s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Some experts assert that the goal of Iran\u2019s national security strategy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran as primarily attempting to protect itself from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it or to change its regime. Its strategy might, alternatively or additionally, represent an attempt to enhance Iran\u2019s international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of the ancient Persian empires. From 2010 until 2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy also focused on attempting to mitigate the effects of international sanctions on Iran.\nIran employs a number of different tools in pursuing its national security policy. Some Iranian policy tools are common to most countries: traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Iran also has financially supported regional politicians and leaders. Of most concern to U.S. policymakers is that Iran provides direct material support to armed groups, some of which use terrorism to intimidate or retaliate against Israel or other regional opponents of Iran. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, also has fueled Sunni popular resentment. \nIran\u2019s national security policy focuses most intently on the Near East region, including on U.S. operations, allies, and activities in that region. It is that region where all the various components of Iran\u2019s foreign policy interact. Iran\u2019s policy also seems to be directed at influencing the policies and actions of big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, that are active in the Near East\u2014either as partners or antagonists of U.S. interests in that region. \nSome experts forecast that Iran\u2019s foreign and defense policies would shift after international sanctions were eased in January 2016 in accordance with the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA). Additional financial resources enable Iran to expand its regional influence further. Others assessed that the nuclear agreement would cause Iran to moderate its regional behavior in order not to jeopardize the agreement and its benefits. During 2016, Obama Administration officials and U.S. reports asserted that there was little, if any, alteration of Iran\u2019s national security policies. On February 1, 2017, the Trump Administration cited Iran\u2019s continued \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests, and asserted that Iran \u201cis now feeling emboldened\u201d and that the Administration was \u201cofficially putting Iran on notice.\u201d The Administration subsequently sanctioned additional Iran missile entities under existing authorities and maintained that a \u201cdeliberative process\u201d was underway that could result in further actions not contravening the JCPOA. Recent U.S. statements and press reports indicate the Administration might be considering military efforts to set back Iranian influence in Yemen, and perhaps elsewhere. \nIran has used the JCPOA to ease its international diplomatic isolation and to try to develop itself as a regional energy and trade hub and to explore new weapons buys. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s core goals, but support Iran\u2019s reintegration into regional and international diplomacy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "40dd88663574087dac133b9cb10fc87e88aad3ad", "filename": "files/20170406_R44017_40dd88663574087dac133b9cb10fc87e88aad3ad.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "7dec396825a000c1006b559ab836b2056fe2fec2", "filename": "files/20170406_R44017_7dec396825a000c1006b559ab836b2056fe2fec2.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 458784, "date": "2017-02-06", "retrieved": "2017-02-10T18:22:37.056241", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership\u2019s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Some experts assert that the goal of Iran\u2019s national security strategy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran as primarily attempting to protect itself from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it or to change its regime. Its strategy might, alternatively or additionally, represent an attempt to enhance Iran\u2019s international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of the ancient Persian empires. From 2010 until 2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy also focused on attempting to mitigate the effects of international sanctions on Iran.\nIran employs a number of different tools in pursuing its national security policy. Some Iranian policy tools are common to most countries: traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Iran also has financially supported regional politicians and leaders. Of most concern to U.S. policymakers is that Iran provides direct material support to armed groups, some of which use terrorism to intimidate or retaliate against Israel or other regional opponents of Iran. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, also has fueled Sunni popular resentment. \nIran\u2019s national security policy focuses most intently on the Near East region, including on U.S. operations, allies, and activities in that region. It is that region where all the various components of Iran\u2019s foreign policy interact. Iran\u2019s policy also seems to be directed at influencing the policies and actions of big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, that are active in the Near East\u2014either as partners or antagonists of U.S. interests in that region. \nSome experts forecast that Iran\u2019s foreign and defense policies would shift after international sanctions were eased in January 2016 in accordance with the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA). Additional financial resources enable Iran to expand its regional influence further. Others assessed that the nuclear agreement would cause Iran to moderate its regional behavior in order not to jeopardize the agreement and its benefits. During 2016, Obama Administration officials and U.S. reports asserted that there has been little, if any, alteration of Iran\u2019s national security policies. On February 1, 2017, the Trump Administration cited Iran\u2019s continued \u201cmalign activities\u201d and repeated ballistic missile tests, and asserted that Iran \u201cis now feeling emboldened\u201d and that the Administration was \u201cofficially putting Iran on notice.\u201d The Administration subsequently sanctioned additional Iran missile entities under existing authorities and maintained that a \u201cdeliberative process\u201d was underway that could result in further actions not affecting U.S. commitments in the JCPOA. \nIran has used the JCPOA to ease its international diplomatic isolation and to try to develop itself as a regional energy and trade hub and to explore new weapons buys. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s core goals, but support Iran\u2019s re-integrate into regional and international diplomacy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "72ab5cd5a6798a4485fac84fabb0018bfb27cf94", "filename": "files/20170206_R44017_72ab5cd5a6798a4485fac84fabb0018bfb27cf94.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "d2e230c0d2cb1660255cd5ca5a6381a991fc520d", "filename": "files/20170206_R44017_d2e230c0d2cb1660255cd5ca5a6381a991fc520d.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 457855, "date": "2016-12-21", "retrieved": "2017-01-03T22:39:46.016053", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership\u2019s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Some experts assert that the goal of Iran\u2019s national security strategy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran as primarily attempting to protect itself from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it or to change its regime. Its strategy might, alternatively or additionally, represent an attempt to enhance Iran\u2019s international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of the ancient Persian empires. From 2010 until 2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy also focused on attempting to mitigate the effects of international sanctions on Iran.\nIran employs a number of different tools in pursuing its national security policy. Some Iranian policy tools are common to most countries: traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Iran also has financially supported regional politicians and leaders. Of most concern to U.S. policymakers is that Iran provides direct material support to armed groups, some of which use terrorism to intimidate or retaliate against Israel or other regional opponents of Iran. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, has aggravated challenges from Sunni insurgent groups by fueling Sunni popular resentment. \nIran\u2019s national security policy focuses on the Near East region, including on U.S. operations, allies, and activities in that region. It is that region where all the various components of Iran\u2019s foreign policy interact. Iran\u2019s foreign policy also seems to be directed at influencing the policies and actions of big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, that are active in the Near East\u2014either as partners or antagonists of U.S. interests in that region. \nSome experts forecast that Iran\u2019s foreign and defense policies would shift after international sanctions were eased in January 2016 in accordance with the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA). Additional financial resources enable Iran to expand its regional influence further. Others assessed that the nuclear agreement would cause Iran to moderate its regional behavior in order not to jeopardize the agreement and its benefits. U.S. officials and U.S. reports assert that there has been no observable alteration of Iran\u2019s pursuit of its core regional activities. To date, Iran has used the JCPOA to ease its international diplomatic isolation and to try to develop itself as a regional energy and trade hub and explore new weapons buys. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran\u2019s core goals, but support Iran\u2019s re-integrate into regional and international diplomacy. \nBased on statements during the 2016 U.S. election campaign and nominations to Cabinet posts made by the incoming Trump Administration, most experts assess that the new Administration views Iran as a regional adversary and not a potential partner. The new Administration is expected to take new steps to counter Iran\u2019s regional influence, even if it decides to continue implementing the JCPOA.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "828009bc3ff00cc84fe1215b0299a58f0910d7d7", "filename": "files/20161221_R44017_828009bc3ff00cc84fe1215b0299a58f0910d7d7.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "9111ffe93000fb779be50d53f8999c8e5892794f", "filename": "files/20161221_R44017_9111ffe93000fb779be50d53f8999c8e5892794f.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 456691, "date": "2016-10-21", "retrieved": "2016-11-28T21:19:27.693093", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign and Defense Policies", "summary": "Iran\u2019s national security policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership\u2019s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Some experts assert that the goal of Iran\u2019s national security strategy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran as primarily attempting to protect itself from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate it or to change its regime. Its strategy might, alternatively or additionally, represent an attempt to enhance Iran\u2019s international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of the ancient Persian empires. From 2010 until 2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy also focused on attempting to mitigate the effects of international sanctions on Iran.\nIran employs a number of different tools in pursuing its national security policy. Some Iranian policy tools are common to most countries: traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Iran also has financially supported regional politicians and leaders. Other tools Tehran uses pose significant challenges to U.S. policy: Iran provides direct material support to armed groups, some of which use terrorism to intimidate or retaliate against Israel or other regional opponents of Iran. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, has aggravated challenges from Sunni insurgent groups by fueling Sunni popular resentment. \nIran\u2019s national security policy (like the U.S. effort to counter Iran strategically) overwhelmingly focuses on the Near East region, including on U.S. operations, allies, and activities in that region. It is that region where all the various components of Iran\u2019s foreign policy interact. Iran\u2019s foreign policy also seems to be directed at influencing the policies and actions of big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, that are active in the Near East\u2014either as partners or antagonists of U.S. interests in that region. \nSome experts forecast that Iran\u2019s foreign and defense policies might shift after international sanctions were eased in January 2016 in accordance with the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA). Some asserted that the additional financial resources would cause Iran to try to expand its regional influence further. Others assessed that the nuclear agreement would cause Iran to moderate its regional behavior in order not to jeopardize the agreement and its benefits. U.S. officials and U.S. reports assert that there has been no observable alteration of Iran\u2019s pursuit of its core regional activities, particularly to materially support friendly governments and pro-Iranian factions. However, Iran is using the nuclear agreement to ease its international diplomatic isolation and to try to develop itself as a regional energy and trade hub while at the same time exploring new weapons buys. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), appear to have blocked any compromises of Iran\u2019s core goals, while at the same time allowing Iran to re-integrate into regional and international diplomacy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "53537d15d2e4a7ad23b6d9987f6a2fcadb514160", "filename": "files/20161021_R44017_53537d15d2e4a7ad23b6d9987f6a2fcadb514160.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "b3fbd3b6eb355f8c86a8b19c69907ff996f3f36c", "filename": "files/20161021_R44017_b3fbd3b6eb355f8c86a8b19c69907ff996f3f36c.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 455309, "date": "2016-08-24", "retrieved": "2016-10-17T19:33:44.486191", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign Policy", "summary": "Iran\u2019s foreign policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership\u2019s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Some experts assert that the goal of Iran\u2019s foreign policy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran\u2019s foreign policy as primarily an attempt to protect Iran from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to change its regime. Its foreign policy might, alternatively or additionally, represent an attempt to enhance Iran\u2019s international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of the ancient Persian empires. From 2010 until 2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy also focused on attempting to mitigate the effects of international sanctions on Iran.\nIran employs a number of different tools in pursuing its foreign policy. Some Iranian policy tools are common to most countries: traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Iran also has financially supported regional politicians and leaders. Other tools Tehran uses pose significant challenges to U.S. policy: Iran provides direct material support to armed groups, some of which use terrorism to intimidate or retaliate against Israel or other regional opponents of Iran. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, has aggravated challenges from Sunni insurgent groups by fueling Sunni popular resentment. \nIran\u2019s foreign policy overwhelmingly focuses on the Near East region, including on U.S. operations, allies, and activities in that region. It is that region where all the various components of Iran\u2019s foreign policy interact. Iran\u2019s foreign policy also seems to be directed at influencing the policies and actions of big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, that are active in the Near East\u2014either as partners or antagonists of U.S. interests in that region. \nSome experts forecast that Iran\u2019s foreign policy would shift after international sanctions were eased in January 2016 in accordance with the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA). Some asserted that the additional financial resources would cause Iran to try to expand its regional influence further. Others assessed that the nuclear agreement would cause Iran to moderate its regional behavior in order not to jeopardize the agreement and its benefits. U.S. officials and U.S. reports assert that there has been no observable alteration of Iran\u2019s pursuit of its core regional activities, particularly to materially support friendly governments and pro-Iranian factions. However, Iran is using the nuclear agreement to ease its international diplomatic isolation and to try to develop itself as a regional energy and trade hub. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), appear to have blocked any compromises of Iran\u2019s core foreign policy goals, while at the same time allowing Iran to re-integrate into regional and international diplomacy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "3d310a555ab3ff8b71386b881950759be3cad600", "filename": "files/20160824_R44017_3d310a555ab3ff8b71386b881950759be3cad600.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "eeec2151c8ae91ff511208ff240c972dc2b5a5b8", "filename": "files/20160824_R44017_eeec2151c8ae91ff511208ff240c972dc2b5a5b8.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc855880/", "id": "R44017_2016Jun27", "date": "2016-06-27", "retrieved": "2016-08-07T13:31:21", "title": "Iran's Foreign Policy", "summary": "This report provides an overview of Iran's foreign policy, which has been a subject of numerous congressional hearings and of sanctions and other legislation for many years. The report analyzes Iranian foreign policy as a whole and by region.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20160627_R44017_f37be3e5ccbf6b9555216b40d03abaa31a990742.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20160627_R44017_f37be3e5ccbf6b9555216b40d03abaa31a990742.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International relations", "name": "International relations" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Sanctions (International law)", "name": "Sanctions (International law)" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Nuclear nonproliferation", "name": "Nuclear nonproliferation" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 451714, "date": "2016-04-12", "retrieved": "2016-05-24T19:24:23.996941", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign Policy", "summary": "Iran\u2019s foreign policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership\u2019s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Some experts assert that the goal of Iran\u2019s foreign policy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for the \u201coppressed\u201d and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Others interpret Iran\u2019s foreign policy as primarily pragmatic\u2014an attempt to protect Iran from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to change its regime. Its foreign policy might also, in some respects, represent an attempt to enhance Iran\u2019s international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of the ancient Persian empires. From 2010 until 2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy also focused on attempting to mitigate the effects of international sanctions on Iran.\nIran employs a number of different tools in pursuing its foreign policy. Some Iranian policy tools are common to most countries: traditional diplomacy and the public promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests. Iran also has financially supported regional politicians and leaders. Other tools Tehran uses are more problematic to U.S. policy: Iran provides direct material support to armed groups, some of which use terrorism to intimidate or retaliate against Israel or other regional opponents of Iran. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, have aggravated challenges from Sunni insurgent groups by fueling Sunni popular resentment. \nIran\u2019s foreign policy overwhelmingly focuses on the Near East region, including on U.S. operations, allies, and activities in that region. It is that region where all the various components of Iran\u2019s foreign policy interact. Iran\u2019s foreign policy also seems to be directed at influencing the policies and actions of big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, that are active in the Near East\u2014either as partners or antagonists of U.S. interests in that region. \nSome experts assessed that Iran\u2019s foreign policy might shift after the July 14, 2015, nuclear agreement between Iran and the United States and its partner negotiating countries (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) began implementation on January 16, 2016. Under the JCPOA, many of the international sanctions that have hobbled Iran\u2019s economy have been lifted, removing most of the major obstacles to completing pending joint regional energy and transportation projects. Iran\u2019s elected President Hassan Rouhani has stated that the JCPOA is \u201ca beginning for creating an atmosphere of friendship and co-operation with various countries.\u201d However, to date, there has been no indication that Iran has altered such core policies such as its support for Syrian President Bashar Al Assad or for Lebanese Hezbollah. Iran now has more financial resources with which to support its regional efforts, and its emergence from diplomatic isolation might enable Iran to develop itself as a regional energy and trade hub. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene\u2019i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), appear to be succeeding to thwart any broad realignment by Iran or any compromises of its core foreign policy goals.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "d5ec5809df9f12f2b9b865dec95a519545fd2c2e", "filename": "files/20160412_R44017_d5ec5809df9f12f2b9b865dec95a519545fd2c2e.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "8ea36f63fa457ab21ff719ff6053230c14ed3b20", "filename": "files/20160412_R44017_8ea36f63fa457ab21ff719ff6053230c14ed3b20.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 282, "name": "Middle East and North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 449246, "date": "2016-01-29", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:21:52.171065", "title": "Iran\u2019s Foreign Policy", "summary": "Iran\u2019s foreign policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership\u2019s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime\u2019s various factions and constituencies. Some experts assert that the goal of Iran\u2019s foreign policy is to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that Iran asserts favors the United States and its allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Iran characterizes its support for Shiite and other Islamist movements as support for an \u201coppressed\u201d underclass and asserts that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarianism tensions to encircle and isolate Iran. Others interpret Iran\u2019s foreign policy as more practical than ideological\u2014an attempt to protect Iran from U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to change its regime. Its foreign policy might also, in some respects, represent an attempt to enhance Iran\u2019s international prestige or restore a sense of \u201cgreatness\u201d reminiscent of the ancient Persian empires. From 2010 until 2016, Iran\u2019s foreign policy was also intended to mitigate the effects of international sanctions on Iran.\nIran employs a number of different tools in pursuing its foreign policy. Some Iranian policy tools are common to most countries\u2014traditional diplomacy and the promotion of Iran\u2019s values and interests in international meetings. Other tools Tehran uses are more problematic to U.S. policy: Iran provides direct material support to armed groups, some of which use terrorism to intimidate or retaliate against Israel or other regional opponents of Iran. Iran\u2019s armed support to Shiite-dominated allied governments, such as those of Syria and Iraq, have aggravated challenges from Sunni insurgent groups by fueling Sunni popular resentment. Iran also has financially supported the election or political prospects of leaders and groups friendly toward Iran.\nIran\u2019s foreign policy overwhelmingly focuses on the Near East region, including on U.S. operations, allies, and activities in that region. It is that region where all the various components of Iran\u2019s foreign policy interact. Iran\u2019s foreign policy also seems to be directed at influencing the policies and actions of big powers, such as those in Europe as well as Russia, that are active in the Near East\u2014either as partners or antagonists of U.S. interests in that region. \nSome aspects of Iran\u2019s foreign policy might yet shift now that the July 14, 2015, nuclear agreement between Iran and the United States and its partner negotiating countries (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) has begun implementation on January 16, 2016. Under the JCPOA, many of the international sanctions that have hobbled Iran\u2019s economy have been lifted, removing most of the major obstacles to completing pending joint regional energy and transportation projects. Iran\u2019s elected President Hassan Rouhani has stated that the JCPOA is \u201ca beginning for creating an atmosphere of friendship and co-operation with various countries.\u201d However, some experts and officials argue that Iran\u2019s foreign policy will not change significantly, and that sanctions relief will provide Iran with more financial resources to fund policies and factions that most challenge the interests of the United States and its allies. Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamene\u2019i, continues to assert that Iran\u2019s foreign policy must not change as a consequence of the agreement. Key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), appear to be moving to thwart any broad realignment by Iran or any compromises of its core foreign policy goals.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44017", "sha1": "a8463591ce23665152d3e26d0b2d6d6fcf084ce4", "filename": "files/20160129_R44017_a8463591ce23665152d3e26d0b2d6d6fcf084ce4.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44017", "sha1": "0f699607cb0260c826fa81f9e7fba38f43352a37", "filename": "files/20160129_R44017_0f699607cb0260c826fa81f9e7fba38f43352a37.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 282, "name": "Middle East and North Africa" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc795916/", "id": "R44017_2015Nov25", "date": "2015-11-25", "retrieved": "2016-01-13T14:26:20", "title": "Iran's Foreign Policy", "summary": "This report provides an overview of Iran's foreign policy, which has been a subject of numerous congressional hearings and of sanctions and other legislation for many years. The report analyzes Iranian foreign policy as a whole and by region.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20151125_R44017_7d1acbfce8a4c468a9e0af7787df2206aa78ca2b.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20151125_R44017_7d1acbfce8a4c468a9e0af7787df2206aa78ca2b.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International relations", "name": "International relations" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Sanctions (International law)", "name": "Sanctions (International law)" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Nuclear nonproliferation", "name": "Nuclear nonproliferation" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc795759/", "id": "R44017_2015Sep25", "date": "2015-09-25", "retrieved": "2016-01-13T14:26:20", "title": "Iran's Foreign Policy", "summary": "This report provides an overview of Iran's foreign policy, which has been a subject of numerous congressional hearings and of sanctions and other legislation for many years. The report contains some specific information on Iran's relations with these countries, but refers to other CRS reports for more detail, particularly on the views of individual countries towards Iran. The report also makes reference to Iran's efforts to utilize its ties to various countries to try to mitigate the effects of U.S. sanctions.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150925_R44017_60d205d05657bca9a3cc54a702203ede863d99ef.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150925_R44017_60d205d05657bca9a3cc54a702203ede863d99ef.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International relations", "name": "International relations" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Sanctions (International law)", "name": "Sanctions (International law)" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Nuclear nonproliferation", "name": "Nuclear nonproliferation" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc700919/", "id": "R44017_2015Jul30", "date": "2015-06-30", "retrieved": "2015-08-27T16:20:31", "title": "Iran's Foreign Policy", "summary": "This report provides an overview of Iran's foreign policy, which has been a subject of numerous congressional hearings and of sanctions and other legislation for many years. The report analyzes Iranian foreign policy as a whole and by region. The regional analysis discusses those countries where Iranian policy is of U.S. concern.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150630_R44017_b5f0e6b60c2ca17b71ef7051d7ea6c5e709d1623.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150630_R44017_b5f0e6b60c2ca17b71ef7051d7ea6c5e709d1623.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International relations", "name": "International relations" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Sanctions (International law)", "name": "Sanctions (International law)" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Nuclear nonproliferation", "name": "Nuclear nonproliferation" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc627126/", "id": "R44017_2015Mar05", "date": "2015-05-05", "retrieved": "2015-06-15T14:46:40", "title": "Iran's Foreign Policy", "summary": "This report provides an overview of Iran's foreign policy, which has been a subject of numerous congressional hearings and of sanctions and other legislation for many years. The report analyzes Iranian foreign policy as a whole and by region. The regional analysis discusses those countries where Iranian policy is of U.S. concern. The report also makes reference to Iran's efforts to utilize its ties to various countries to try to mitigate the effects of U.S. sanctions.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150505_R44017_6c57b3364b7e2a98e5310785a55e156fd39f0804.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150505_R44017_6c57b3364b7e2a98e5310785a55e156fd39f0804.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International relations", "name": "International relations" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Sanctions (International law)", "name": "Sanctions (International law)" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Nuclear nonproliferation", "name": "Nuclear nonproliferation" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "Middle Eastern Affairs", "National Defense" ] }