Ilan Berman

Last updated
Ilan I. Berman
Born (1975-12-23) December 23, 1975 (age 47)
Education Brandeis University (BA)
American University (MA, JD)
Occupation(s)Lawyer, policy analyst
Known forMiddle East and Iran analysis
Notable work Winning the Long War: Retaking the Offensive Against Radical Islam (2009); Tehran Rising: Iran's Challenge to the United States ( 2005)

Ilan I. Berman (born December 23, 1975) is an American lawyer and policy analyst. He is the Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council. [1] He focuses on regional security in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Russian Federation. [1]

Contents

Education

Berman has a BA in Politics from Brandeis University, an MA in International Politics from American University, and a JD from Washington College of Law. [2]

Career

Berman is adjunct professor for International Law and Global Security at the National Defense University, and a member of the Associated Faculty at Missouri State University's Department of Defense and Strategic Studies. [1] He also serves as a member of the Committee on the Present Danger, writes a monthly column for Forbes.com , and is an Editor of The Journal of International Security Affairs . [1] [3] He has also advised the United States Department of Defense, agencies of the U.S. government including the CIA, and offices of congressmen on matters of foreign policy and national security. [1] [4] [5]

Views

In November 2002, Al Ahram Weekly quoted him as remarking with regard to the U.S.'s targeted killing of al-Qaeda terrorists in Yemen,

It is too early to tell whether this event alone will precipitate a shift toward explicit support of such tactics as employed by Israel on Washington's part. What does seem clear, however, is that the United States and Israel are gravitating toward increasingly similar perceptions, and possibly strategies, in the war on terrorism. [6]

He wrote in his 2005 book Tehran Rising: Iran's Challenge to the United States and has said in speeches that in displacing Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq which had been an enemy of Iran, and the Taliban in Afghanistan which had been a rival, the United States had unintentionally taken away two significant checks on the power of Iran in the Middle East. [7] [8] [9] [10]

In August 2006 he noted that to that point in time, the U.S. had had a lot of difficulty in convincing especially Russia and China, to support sanctions on Iran for its moving forward with its uranium enrichment program, and that "both Moscow and Beijing are major strategic partners of the Islamic republic and have a vested interest in protecting their investments in the Iranian regime." [11] In July 2008 he observed: ""The Iranians are playing a colossal game of chicken with us," and asked: "Does the international community have the will to take the short-term pain and disarm these guys, or accept the long-term pain of a region completely dominated by this regime? I think the world community has essentially come to grips with the fact that Iran is going to go nuclear." [12]

In October 2009, Berman noted: "The Iranian strategy has been pretty consistent all along; to keep the West talking while they work on their nuclear program." [13] In March 2010, commenting on Iran's warning to Europe not to sanction it, he observed:

The Iranians have a pattern of warning anyone threatening to get tough with them, basically saying, 'Don't do this, because there will be consequences. What's notable here is that they are singling out Europe. It's a sure sign Europe is being more activist [about curtailing economic ties to Iran] than it normally is." [14]

Lou Dobbs of CNN in 2008 described him as "one of the [U.S.]'s leading experts on the Middle East and Iran." [15]

Works

Books

Select articles

Statement before Congress

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Iran</span> Overview of the foreign relations of Iran

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Iran and the United States have had no formal diplomatic relations since 7 April 1980. Instead, Pakistan serves as Iran's protecting power in the United States, while Switzerland serves as the United States' protecting power in Iran. Contacts are carried out through the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the US Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. In August 2018, Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei banned direct talks with the United States.

The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include three known uranium enrichment plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Council of Resistance of Iran</span> Political alliance aiming to establish a democratic, secular Iranian republic

The National Council of Resistance of Iran is an Iranian political organization based in France and Albania and was founded by Massoud Rajavi and Abolhassan Banisadr. The organization is a political coalition calling to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran. The coalition is made up of different Iranian dissident groups, with its main member being the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK). Both organizations are considered to be led by Maryam Rajavi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran and weapons of mass destruction</span> WMD programs in Iran

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Alireza Jafarzadeh is an Iranian dissident, media commentator on the Middle East, and US representative of the People's Mujahedin of Iran. He is known for releasing information on Iran's secret nuclear program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab League–Iran relations</span> Bilateral relations

Arab League–Iran relations refer to the political, economic, and cultural ties between the League of Arab States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The former is a regional organization composed of 22 Arab states in MENA with a combined majority of Sunni Muslims, whereas the latter is a country in Western Asia with a majority of Shia Muslims.

Louis René Beres is emeritus professor of political science and international law at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He was born on August 31, 1945, in Zürich, Switzerland, and earned his Ph.D. at Princeton University in 1971. Beres has written many books and currently also writes editorials for various major newspapers and magazines.

Military action against Iran is a controversial topic in Israel and The United States. Proponents of a strike against Iran point to the threat presented by Iran's nuclear program as a casus belli. Many Israelis, and particularly hardline politicians such as Prime Minister Netanyahu, support military action. Opposition to military action is often based in pacifism, but some who are opposed to military action against Iran are opposed for other reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–Turkey relations</span> Bilateral relations between Iran and Turkey

Iran–Turkey relations are the bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Turkey. The two states' relationship is complex and characterized by periods of both tension and cooperation, as both Iran and Turkey are fighting for influence in the Middle East through supporting opposing proxies as part of a proxy conflict. The two countries are also major trade partners and are perceived as mutually interdependent due to geographical proximity as well as historically shared cultural, linguistic, and ethnic traits. Notably, the Kurds, an Iranic ethnic group, and the Iranian Azerbaijanis, a Turkic ethnic group, comprise the second-largest ethnicities of Turkey and Iran, respectively.

This is the timeline of the nuclear program of Iran.

This article is about the current international tensions between Iran and other countries, especially the United States and Israel.

Dual containment was an official US foreign policy aimed at containing Ba'athist Iraq and Revolutionary Iran. The term was first officially used in May 1993 by Martin Indyk at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and officially announced on February 24, 1994 at a symposium of the Middle East Policy Council by Indyk, who was the senior director for Middle East Affairs of the National Security Council (NSC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James S. Robbins</span> American journalist

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Project Koussar, also known as Project Kowsar, is an alleged intermediate range or intercontinental ballistic missile program of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

There have been a number of sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia following its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazil–Iran relations</span> Bilateral relations

Brazil–Iran relations are the bilateral relations between the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Relations are characterized by economic and diplomatic cooperation and are quite friendly. Iran has a productive trade balance with Brazil. The two governments signed a document to bolster cooperation during the G-15 Summit in Tehran in 2010. However, since the election of former Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, relations between the two countries recently have deteriorated greatly, following Rousseff shifting Brazil away from Iran due to Iran's violation of human and civil rights. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's media adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, was quoted as stating that Rousseff had "destroyed years of good relations" between them. He denied making such a statement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foundation for Defense of Democracies</span> Think tank and policy institute

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faramarz Tamanna</span> University Professor and Afghan politician

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Maximum pressure campaign refers to the intensified sanctions against Iran by the Trump administration after the United States exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018. The campaign was aimed at pressuring Iran to renegotiate the JCPOA, adding more restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and expanding the scope of the agreement to cover Iran's ballistic missiles as well as other regional activities. This strategy was faced by Iran's counter pressure policy to thwart the U.S. maximum pressure campaign.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "American Foreign Policy Council – Experts » Ilan I. Berman". Afpc.org. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  2. "Welcome to CISA". Ndu.edu. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  3. "Columnists". Forbes.com. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  4. "The Arena: – Ilan Berman Bio". Politico. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  5. "Forbes » Contributor Profile » Ilan Berman". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  6. Nyier Abdou (November 20, 2002). "Region | Death by Predator". Al-Ahram Weekly. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  7. "Iran flaunts options on striking back at West". Tmcnet.com. April 27, 2006. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  8. Paul Owens (October 2, 2005). "A Dire Threat; Author details the dangers Iran poses, including its nuclear program and how it finances terror with oil". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  9. Alexis Fabbri (November 21, 2005). "Focus on Iraq helps Iran". UPI Security & Terrorism. Retrieved November 17, 2011.[ dead link ]
  10. John Hall (October 2, 2005). "War in Iraq has Opened Door for Iran". Indiana Gazette. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  11. Stannard, Matthew B. (August 27, 2006). "U.N. unlikely to punish Iran – experts / Some say even light sanctions wrong way to curb nuclear drive". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  12. Ward, Olivia (July 22, 2008). "Iran talks 'colossal game of chicken'". The Toronto Star. Toronto. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  13. Jonathan Tirone and Ali Sheikholeslami (October 29, 2009). "Iran Reply to UN Fuel Plan Falls Short of Acceptance (Update1)". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  14. Howard LaFranchi (March 1, 2010). "Nuclear weapons worries: Is threat of Iran sanctions making Tehran testy with Europe?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  15. "CNN.com – Transcripts". CNN. December 17, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2010.