February 05, 2025
Sharper: Iran and the Axis of Upheaval
Despite suffering geopolitical setbacks since Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel, a potentially nuclear Iran continues to pose a significant threat to U.S. and allied interests in the Middle East. Underlying this, Tehran recently entered into new security agreements with longtime ally Russia. CNAS experts believe that Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea are working more closely as part of an Axis of Upheaval. This week, the CNAS team is sharpening the conversation on countering Iranian influence and securing regional stability. Continue reading this edition of Sharper to learn more.
Features
First 100 Days | Convene the E3 to Address the Iranian Nuclear Threat
Eight years after President Trump pulled the United States out of the JCPOA, Iran now stands at the precipice of becoming a nuclear state. Time is of the essence to prevent Iran from becoming the world’s 10th nuclear power. In his commentary for The First 100 Days series, Jonathan Lord writes that as President Trump reinstates a maximum pressure campaign on Iran, he should work closely with the E3 allies to secure a new nuclear agreement.
Commentary | Tehran’s Proxies Are on the Back Foot. An Iran-Russia Defense Pact Could Revive Them
As Iran’s proxies reel, the regime is turning to great powers to provide both economic and military power. Since the Iranian revolution, the country has long relied on Russian military imports, but as Delaney Soliday and Shivane Anand write in Breaking Defense, a recently signed defense agreement signals a new era of cooperation with potentially dangerous consequences.
Around the Center | The Axis of Upheaval
Along with Russia, China, and North Korea, Iran forms what CNAS experts have labeled the Axis of Upheaval. The cooperation between these four countries is growing. Iranian drones have devastated Ukrainian cities as part of Russia’s war of expansion, while China and Russia purchase Iranian oil long sanctioned by the West. This growing alliance could reshape the international order, and CNAS experts are analyzing how the United States and its allies can arrest this axis’s momentum and prevent its ultimate victory.
Middle East Security
Convene the E3 to Address the Iranian Nuclear Threat
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration should convene the United Kingdom (UK), France, and Germany—the E3—to coordinate a strategy for dealing with Iran’s nuclear pro...
Transatlantic Security
Tehran’s Proxies Are on the Back Foot. An Iran-Russia Defense Pact Could Revive Them.
A renewed defense treaty between these two powers will render Iran’s web of proxies all the more dangerous by arming already destabilizing agents with more advanced weapons te...
Axis of Upheaval
Today a new Axis of Upheaval—the increasing alignment among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea—is fundamentally altering the geopolitical landscape. Cooperation among the fo...
In the News
Commentary and Analysis from Richard Fontaine, Jonathan Lord, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, and Rachel Ziemba.
Indo-Pacific Security
“The Ayatollah Has No Clothes” – with Rich Goldberg and Richard Fontaine
Richard Fontaine is CEO of the Center for American Security, joins Call Me Back to assess the threat FROM Iran and the threat TO Iran. Listen to the full episode on Call Me ...
Middle East Security
Russia Signs Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Iran
Months after the initial announcement, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed today the long-awaited Comprehensive Strategic Partnersh...
Indo-Pacific Security
Why Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran are teaming up
Probably the most surprising thing about the war in Ukraine is that Russia is getting a ton of help. North Korea and Iran are sending it millions of rounds of ammunition and l...
Transatlantic Security
Are America’s Four Main Adversaries Really in Cahoots?
Hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as president, China’s Xi Jinping made a call to Russian President Vladimir Putin in which, according to the Chinese foreign ministry’s re...
Energy, Economics & Security
Ziemba: Russia & Iran Concentrating on Own Battles
The rebel-led alliance in Syria is set to form a transitional government, after overthrowing President Bashar Al Assad. Reports say the reason the Assad regime fell so quickly...
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