Research & Commentary Results

Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said today that Iran is not obliged to abide by any agreement between the United States and Russia about southwestern Syria. “America and Russia cannot make a decision for Iran. We are present in Syria based on a request from the Syrian government and will act upon that request. However, Russia has not requested us to do anything (to pull out Iranian and Iran-led forces from southwestern Syria),” the top Iranian diplomat explained.

A prominent Iranian-backed commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Force (P.M.F.) has called for the withdrawal of American troops from the country following the defeat of the Islamic State.  “We will adopt a parliamentary decision to pull out all American troops” Hadi al-Ameri, the head of the Badr Organization, said in an exclusive interview with Iran’s Press TV. He emphasized that the P.M.F. will not allow a single U.S. soldier to remain in Iraq now that ISIS is being driven out of its last pockets in the country.

Mohammad Mohaqeq, a deputy chief executive of Afghanistan, has come under fire at home after he praised the role of Iran and its regional proxies in the Syrian conflict. Speaking at a conference in Tehran last week, Mohaqeq congratulated Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, for the “victory” against ISIS. But what particularly triggered angry reactions in Afghanistan was Mohaqeq’s praise for Afghan Shiite militias, known as the Fatemiyoun Division, who are fighting in Syria under Soleimani’s leadership.

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will be one of the world’s regions hit hardest by climate change in the 21^st century, particularly due to increased heat and aridity. In face of these challenges, interventions in domestic agricultural sectors have the potential to offset many negative impacts on the region.

The following testimony was delivered by Paul Salem to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa on November 29, 2017. For more information and video of this hearing click here.

“Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member Deutch, distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Summary

November 21, 2017- The Middle East Institute hosted a conversation with Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel, editors of the new book Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East. Their book critiques the reliance on religious identity as the explanation for the region’s violence, and analyzes the ways in which geopolitical rivalries or domestic grievances have become, or been mobilized into, sectarian wars. How, Hashemi and Postel ask, can the region’s politics be “de-sectarianized”?

The creation of an “international Islamic Basij” force to resist against the United States and its allies fulfills one of the main goals of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, said Major General Ali Jafari, the chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.).

A prominent Shiite leader based in the Iranian holy city of Qom has denounced a recent U.S.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei today called on the country’s military leaders to expand the country’s naval capabilities, the Iranian media reported. In a meeting with senior Navy commanders in Tehran, Khamenei said the Navy should boost its assets and capabilities both in terms of military gear and combat power. He praised the latest progress of the Navy but stressed that Navy officials should accelerate the development of its assets.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Randa Slim, and Alex Vatanka provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Egypt’s ongoing struggle with terrorism following the recent attack in Rawda mosque, the next round of intra-Syrian Geneva negotiations, and Iran’s anxiety over Russia’s plans in Syria.

The deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has warned Europe that if it acts against Tehran’s interests, the I.R.G.C. will increase the range of the country’s missiles beyond the current limit of 2,000 kilometers. “If we have kept the range of our missiles up to 2,000 kilometers and have not increased it, it is not because of technological limitations.

The head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) has admitted that Iran is providing assistance to the Houthi “resistance movement” fighting the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. “Our assistance to the resistance front has been provided at the request of their people and governments, and Yemen is one of those examples. In Yemen, the power today lies in the hands of Ansarullah and Iran’s assistance is at the level of advisory and spiritual support, which Yemen needs more,” Major General Ali Jafari said at a press conference in Tehran on Thursday.

The new head of Iran’s Navy has said that the country is planning on sending warships to America’s backyard, the Iranian media reported.

In a phone call on Tuesday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani urged his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron not to support Washington’s policies vis-à-vis Tehran, particularly regarding Iran’s missile program and regional policies and actions.