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null NSA Prof. Ostovar Publishes on Iran's Foreign Policy in the Middle East

By Catherine Grant
December 5, 2016

NSA Prof. Afshon Ostovar has written several articles regarding foreign policy in the Middle East. In his most recent publication, Sectarian Dilemmas in Iranian Foreign Policy, published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (November 2016), Prof. Ostovar argues that Iran's foreign policy is a product of it's self-interest, and that approach can look aggressive, and pragmatic, but it also has a sectarian angle too. He discusses how religious identity and beliefs also take part in Iran's foreign policy approach. Furthermore, Prof. Ostovar explores Iran's policies in the broader context of the expansion of sectarianism across the Middle East.

In the second article, “From Tehran to Mosul: Iran and the Middle East's Great Game,” Prof. Ostovar discusses the serious complications for the region once ISIS is driven out of Mosul. In particular, he discusses the perspectives and interests of Iran and Turkey. He concludes by noting that although the region’s major players do want to see the city liberated, in a post-ISIS Mosul “intersecting Turkish, Kurdish, and Shiite claims to Mosul and its surrounding areas, combined with political rivalries at home, might make that balancing act difficult to maintain.” 

To read Sectarian Dilemmas in Iranian Foeign Policy, click here.

To read the article "From Tehran to Mosul," click here.


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