Research & Commentary Results

Iran wants to cooperate more closely with Turkey to resolve regional problems, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a telephone conversation earlier today. Rouhani offered his congratulations to Erdogan on the occasion of Eid al-Adha and stressed that he will do more during his second term in office to expand Tehran’s ties with Ankara in all fields.

Iran’s new defense minister has said that the country will continue to support the “resistance front” by providing “advisory” assistance. In an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (I.R.I.B.), Brigadier General Amir Hatami also stressed the need for employing “defense diplomacy” to ensure Iran’s national security interests in the region. He claimed that Iran’s enemies are worried that the Islamic Republic has become a “role model for resistance” and supports resistance groups in the region.

A new homegrown military submarine Fateh (Conqueror) is going through final tests and will soon join the Iranian naval forces, Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami has said. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the new Iranian defense minister added that the 527-ton Fateh submarine is a semi-heavy undersurface vessel. The submarine reportedly is equipped with an advanced sonic radar system which can identify enemy vessels and uses a missile defense system.

Iran and its allies are sending reinforcements near a de-confliction zone in southeastern Syria to pressure the U.S. military to withdraw from a strategic garrison near al-Tanf border crossing. Both Tehran and Damascus see the presence of U.S. troops training rebel forces in al-Tanf, as well as in northeastern Syria, as a serious threat. Iran also views the expulsion of the U.S.

Even before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the Black Sea resort of Sochi last Wednesday for his sixth consultation in two years with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow’s representative in Tel Aviv laid out a soothing if improbable vision of a Syria free of Iranian troops and Shiite militias.

Israelis and Palestinians tend to be invested in the notion that their conflict is unique in its intractability. But other conflicts have reached a measure of resolution, or at least extended periods of non-violence. Learning from their limited success can offer insights and key policy implications; learning from their failures can provide valuable warnings and lessons. Comparing conflicts can even humanize what’s happening in Israel and the occupied territories.

Jared Kushner was on a Middle East mission last week attempting to do what at least half a dozen U.S. emissaries and special presidential envoys have failed to do for more than two decades: putting the peace process on track toward concluding a final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. But there was a marked change in the U.S. tone, as Kushner, accompanied by Special Envoy for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt and Deputy N.S.A. Adviser Dina Powell, met with leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt before heading to Israel and the West Bank.

The world’s view toward Iran has changed and previous international sanctions will not be reinstated against the Islamic Republic, President Hassan Rouhani

Senior Iranian political and military officials have rejected a demand by U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Nikki Haley that U.N. inspectors visit Iran’s military sites, the Iranian media reported today.

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has said that the country’s security forces have disbanded nearly 100 terrorist groups across the country, Fars News Agency reported. “Highly serious measures have been taken in the Southern, Southeastern and Western parts of Iran and nearly 100 teams have been confronted,” the deputy intelligence minister said on Monday. He noted that the Islamic State seeks to carry out attacks in Iran but assured the public that the security forces are able to deal with any threats.

Afghan officials say they are investigating reports that an unmanned aerial vehicle has recently entered western Afghanistan from Iran. Jilani Farhad, the spokesman of western Herat Province, said the governor’s office has been informed about the incident and is probing the case to find out which country the drone belonged to. Some Afghan media outlets have alleged that the drone was Iranian and it disappeared after local Afghan forces fired at it. The Iranian government has not reacted to the reports.

August 25, 2017 – Journalist Yeganeh Rezaian joins host Paul Salem for a discussion of social and cultural trends inside Iran, how youth are dealing with unemployment and other economic pressures, and how women are seeking opportunities for socioeconomic advancement and gender equality.

Podcast:

The liberation of Tal Afar is a “major defeat for America and terrorists” and paves the way for the expulsion of U.S. Troops from Iraq, says an article in hardline Javan Online, a mouthpiece of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.).

The new leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza has announced that it has restored its relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tasnim News Agency

The new Iranian defense minister said today that the Rouhani administration is determined to further enhance the country’s missile program,