Growing Environmental Problems Strain Iran’s Ties with Its Neighbors
Iran’s growing environmental challenges have recently reached crisis point. Water scarcity and air pollution, in particular, have not only caused sociopolitical and security problems inside the country, but have also strained Iran’s relations with its neighbors. As the Islamic State is losing ground in Iraq and Syria, Iran and Turkey are particularly vying for the control of water in the region.
Iranian Leaders Say Will Ignore U.S. Warning, Further Enhance Missile Program
A senior Iranian official has said that Tehran will continue to further enhance its missile program despite U.S.
Senior Iraqi Leader Visits Tehran, Says Foreign Troops Not Allowed in Post-Islamic State Iraq
Ammar al-Hakim, the head of Iraq’s Shiite ruling coalition, has said that the Baghdad government will not allow a single foreign soldier to remain in Iraq after the fight against the Islamic State is over, Iranian media reported on Monday. Fars News Agency, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolution G
Tajikistan Closes Iranian Organizations in New Diplomatic Escalation
The Iranian embassy in Tajikistan has shut down its economic and cultural offices in northern parts of the country, the BBC Persian reported today.
Iranian Parliament Seeks to Increase Budget for Missile Program, I.R.G.C. Quds Force
The Iranian parliament is finalizing a bill to increase the annual budget for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), the Iranian media reported. The estimated surplus budget of more than half a billion dollars is specifically designed to help the I.R.G.C. to further enhance the country’s missile program and military activities in the region. The move came as a response to the latest U.S. Senate legislation that would impose new sanctions against Iran’s missile program.
Adam Henein: Egypt’s Sculptor Icon
The road to Haraniyya, a formerly rural area just beyond the Giza pyramids, is now an eight-lane highway flanked by red-brick buildings packed and stacked as if designed by some demented cubist. But take the exit, cross a canal and tucked behind a wall of residential towers, the Museum of Adam Henein exists in magical contrast, a verdant stronghold of living art, and one of Cairo’s hidden treasures.
Iran Warns White House against “Playing with Fire” in Syria
A senior Iranian official called on the Trump administration to avoid taking any further military action against the Syrian government and its allies and threatened that any such move would not go unanswered.
Iran’s Mixed Track Record of Fighting Drugs Trafficking
Iran’s anti-narcotics police forces have seized more than 16 tons of illicit drugs in the southern province of Hormozgan, the Iranian media reported. According to Hormozgan’s Police Chief Brigadier General Azizollah Maleki, the security forces confiscated the drugs from 219 vehicles over the past three months.
Iran Steps up Efforts to Oust U.S. Military from Middle East
With the Islamic State collapsing in Iraq and losing ground in Syria, Iran and its regional proxies see the United States as the primary threat to their influence and ambitions and have stepped up efforts to oust the U.S. military from the region. Through diplomatic outreach – and at times veiled threats – Iranian leaders have been urging the Afghan and Iraqi governments to expel American forces from their countries. Tehran has also deepened its ties with the Taliban and has reportedly teamed up with Moscow to undermine U.S.-led stabilization efforts in war-torn Afghanistan.
The Influence of North African Militaries in Foreign Policy-Making
This essay looks at five North African states, arguing that the armed forces — for a variety of often case-specific reasons — are actually not as politically powerful and thus influential in foreign policy-making as one might expect. It first discusses the political strength of the military establishments of five North African states — Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt — and then investigates the difference, if any, that the recent Arab upheavals have made in their involvement in foreign policy-making.
Tehran Seeks International Support to Mitigate Impact of U.S. Sanctions
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said the latest U.S. Senate legislation that would impose new sanctions on Iran was a violation of international law and U.N. conventions, the Iranian media reported. He made the remarks in a speech at the meeting of the Eurasia’s parliament speakers in South Korea on Tuesday.