On February 25, Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri appointed Hassan Danaeifar, former ambassador to Baghdad and an officer of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Quds Force (IRGC-QF) officer, political adviser.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei praised Syrian President Bahsar al-Assad as a “great fighter” and reiterated Tehran’s support for Syria as a “front line” state against the United States and Israel, the Iranian media reported. “Today, Syria is the front line. Therefore, it is our duty to support the Syrian resistance. Indeed, Mr. Bashar al-Assad emerged as a great fighter and stood up firmly and without hesitation.
Over the course of the last three years, the Middle East Institute convened a regional dialogue involving participants acting in their personal capacities from Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Turkey. The dialogue also involved participants from China, Europe, Russia and the United States. The discussions resulted in the following declaration of good neighborhood principles for the Middle East agreed in Baghdad 15-16 December 2017.
…….
The Middle East dialogue, which began its twice-a-year meetings in October 2012, convened its eleventh meeting in Baghdad 15-16 December. Participants included current and former officials and senior experts from Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates as well as China, Europe, Russia, and the United States.
Sayed Ali-Asghar Hosseini, an Afghan national living in Iran, says he hopes to quickly recover from injuries he sustained in the Syrian conflict in order to return to the Arab country and take part in the next phase of war against Israel and Saudi Arabia. “Our real war with Israel and the al-Saud family is still there.
The head of a prominent Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq has said that the priority of the next government in Baghdad will be to “expel the American forces from Iraq and terminate the strategic cooperation agreement between the two countries.” Qais al-Khazali, who is the leader of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, also predicted that a coalition of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) will form the next government after the upcoming parliamentary elections slated for May 12.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Marvin G. Weinbaum, Charles Lister, and Gerald Feierstein provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the placement of Pakistan on a global terrorist financing “gray list,” the ongoing assault on eastern Ghouta following a UNSC cease-fire resolution, and diplomatic efforts on the war in Yemen.
Read the full article on The American Conservative
It should be no surprise that Washington’s Syrian Kurdish allies—who have long had daggers drawn and pointed at our fellow NATO member Turkey—are now reconciling with our Syrian enemy President Bashar al-Assad.
Iran has announced that it will allow Iraqi travelers and businesspeople to visit the Iranian cities of Abadan and Khorramshahr without the need for a visa, Iranian and Iraqi media reported. According to the consulate general of Iran in the Iraqi city of Basra, Tehran is waiting for the Iraqi government to approve the new policy and cancel the visa requirement for its citizens planning on traveling to the two Iranian cities.
The secretary-general of Harakat al-Nujaba, an Iraqi militia group with close ties with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), has said that the group will avenge the blood of Iraqi paramilitary forces recently killed in the Iraqi province of Kirkuk by “cleansing” Iraq of the American presence,
While donor countries and organizations pledged $30 billion for Iraq’s reconstruction at an international conference held in Kuwait on February 14, Iran – which portrays itself as Iraq’s closest ally – made no financial commitments.
Several Iranian-supported Iraqi militia commanders and politicians this week called for the withdrawal of American troops from the country, argying that they are no longer needed as ISIS is now militarily defeated, Iranian and Iraqi media reported. A senior official of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), a unit within the Popular Mobilization Force with close ties with Iran’s elite Quds Force and the Lebanese Hezbollah, said today that the paramilitary forces and Iraqi parliament will not allow Washington to keep its troops in Iraq.
In this week’s Weekly Briefing, MEI experts Eran Etzion, Gonul Tol, and Ibrahim al-Assil provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Benjamin Netanyahu investigations, the impact of Rex Tillerson’s visit to Turkey, and Russia’s presence in Eastern Ghouta.
Netanyahu faces a whirlwind of investigations
Eran Etzion, MEI Scholar
Tens of thousands have been subjected to enforced disappearance in Syria since 2011. The regime is responsible for a majority of these detentions, but various armed groups have been guilty of the practice as well. Amnesty International has warned that “the plight of those who have vanished after being arrested by the authorities or detained by armed groups is a tragedy that has been largely ignored internationally.”