Akbarzadeh, Shahram, and Conduit, Dara

Summary
President Rouhani came to power in Iran in 2013 promising to reform the country’s long-contentious foreign policy. His top priorities were rehabilitating the Iranian economy, ending the nuclear dispute, rebuilding relations with the US, and mending ties with Iran’s neighbors. Iran in the World evaluates Rouhani’s foreign policy track record during his first two years in office, looking at case studies of Armenia, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Turkey, and Syria, as well as the high profile Iran-US relationship. It is argued that while Rouhani has made progress in the Iran-US relationship, in nuclear negotiations and in some bilateral relationships, his broader success has been hampered by regional political developments and domestic competition. Further, it is contended that his future success will be guided by emerging regional tensions, including whether Iran’s neighbors will accept the terms of the nuclear agreement.