Though its capabilities remain more limited than those of Russia or China, Iran is becoming a significant authoritarian actor challenging democracy in the United States and Europe. Through information manipulation, malign finance, and cyberattacks, Tehran seeks to weaken the United States and like-minded democracies to undermine their efforts at democratization beyond their borders. Find ASD’s work on Iran on this page.
Hamilton Toplines: December 5-11, 2020
Continuing a pattern seen in recent weeks, Russian state media covered various issues and concerns related to Western coronavirus vaccines and lamented the alleged anti-Russia bias in Western media coverage of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. Meanwhile, [...]
Hamilton Toplines: November 28-December 4, 2020
As with previous weeks, Russian state media and official government accounts promoted positive messaging related to Russia’s coronavirus vaccines, while highlighting controversies and problems related to Western vaccines. While some of this content [...]
Nad’a Kovalčíková and Ariane Tabatabai: What Should Be Done Next to Counter the COVID-19 Infodemic?
As governments and citizens around the world have struggled with the novel coronavirus, the information space has turned into a battleground. Authoritarian countries, including Russia, China and Iran, have spread disinformation on the causes of and [...]
Ariane Tabatabai Discusses the Future of U.S.-Iranian Relations on ‘Skimm This’
Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai joined The Skimm's "Skimm This" to discuss the recent killing of a top Iranian nuclear scientist and how that might impact the incoming Biden administration's plans. [...]
Hamilton Toplines: November 21-27, 2020
Last week, Russian diplomatic accounts and state media continued to tout Russia’s coronavirus vaccines, including the announcement that Sputnik V “will cost less than its Western rivals.” At the same time, state media highlighted various issues surr [...]
Ariane Tabatabai in Foreign Policy: How Will Iran React to Another High-Profile Assassination?
The killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top nuclear scientist, will complicate the incoming Biden administration’s efforts to renew the nuclear deal—and could lead to escalation. Last Friday, Iran announced that an important player in its security app [...]
Ariane Tabatabai on the Assassination of One of Iran’s Top Nuclear Officials on NPR
An Iranian scientist, who U.S. intelligence says is one of Iran's top nuclear officials, has been assassinated. Middle East Fellow Ariane Tabatabai spoke to NPR's Ari Shapiro about the news. [...]
Hamilton Toplines: November 14-20, 2020
In last week’s post-U.S. election coverage from Russian state media, two major topics were the pro-Trump demonstrations in DC the weekend of November 14, in which accounts of violence directed at pro-Trump demonstrators and the size of the rally wer [...]
Foreign Amplification of Voter Fraud Narratives: How Russian, Iranian, and Chinese Messengers Have Leveraged Post-Election Unrest in the United States
Overview The aftermath of the U.S. presidential election has seen a tidal wave of false and misleading information about the validity of the election results as well as the legitimacy and security of the voting process. Narratives related to ballot [...]
Ariane Tabatabai and Ambassador Wendy Sherman on the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy
After four years of “America First,” President-Elect Biden recently declared: “America is Back.” In other words, U.S. foreign policy is on the verge of change. On this episode, Ariane Tabatabai, the Middle East Fellow at GMF’s Alliance for Securing [...]
Hamilton Toplines: November 7-13, 2020
Last week’s U.S. election coverage from Russian state media continued to feature familiar themes, including claims of fraud, criticism of mainstream media coverage of the election, and condemnation of social media platforms for election-related issu [...]
Hamilton Toplines: October 31-November 6, 2020
Last week, Russian state media devoted substantial coverage to the U.S. elections. During election week (prior to the presidential race being called for Biden), the outlets continued to showcase various themes characteristic of their coverage of the [...]