Research & Commentary Results

A prominent Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militia leader has confirmed that the Hashd al-Shaabi – the paramilitary Iraqi forces known as the Popular Mobilization Forces – will not take part in the military operation to recapture the strategic city of Tal Afar from the Islamic State.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Alex Vatanka, and Jonathan M. Winer provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Secretary of State Tillerson, Iranian President Rouhani’s battle for re-election, and the efforts to strike a deal for the future of the Libyan state.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani’s latest remark on the country’s missile program has aroused the ire of the military establishment. In the second presidential debate aired on Iran’s state-run TV, Rouhani, who is seeking a second term in May 19 elections, accused the powerful Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) of trying to sabotage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers in July 2015. “What did they do in order to undermine the J.C.P.O.A.?” Rouhani asked, referring to the I.R.G.C.

The Iranian defense minister said on Sunday that his country would hit back and destroy all of Saudi Arabia, except the Muslim holy sites, if Riyadh showed any aggression toward the Islamic Republic. “I advise them against committing any ignorant move.

An editorial in Afghanistan’s largest daily Hasht-e Sobh accuses the Iranian government of “playing a double game” in Afghanistan. The article analyzes Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s weekend visit to Kabul and warns that such diplomatic outreach would yield no results unless the Iranian government cuts ties with terrorist groups fighting in Afghanistan. “Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s trip to Kabul was an opportunity for high-ranking officials of the national unity government to share Afghanistan’s legitimate concerns with him,” the paper stressed.

The leader of a prominent Iran-controlled Iraqi Shiite militia group has warned that his forces and other Shiite militant groups will respond to the Bahraini government’s prosecution of Ayatollah Isa Qassim.

The Iranian intelligence minister has announced that the country’s security forces have identified and disbanded about 30 terrorist cells over the past Iranian calendar

Although Iran, Turkey and Russia have signed an agreement to create four de-escalation zones in Syria, the implementation of the plan will face major challenges, writes

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has

U.S. defense officials say the “midget” submarine from which Iran this week tried to launch a cruise missile was built on a North Korean design.

Iran, Turkey and Russia have reached an agreement to create “de-escalation zones” in Syria, Iranian and Russian media reported.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has

Hardliners in Iran are continuing to punish Gholamhossein Karbaschi, a reformist politician backing President Hassan Rouhani, for his last week speech in which he questioned the Islamic Republic’s military role in Syria. In the latest incident, a pro-regime vigilante group forced the former mayor of Tehran to cancel a campaign rally in Semnan Province.

Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi has revealed that a leader of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) has traveled to Iran to discuss the issue of internally displaced people of the strategic town of Jurf Al Sakhar near Baghdad.

Read the full op-ed on Defense One.

If President Trump travels to Riyadh later this month, as reported, he will find that the six leaders of the Gulf Coordination Council (GCC) countries hold widely divergent views on Iran, the extent of the Iranian threat, and how to resolve the conflict in Yemen.