Wars don’t just end. They get interpreted, reinterpreted, and turned into strategic doctrine. That is what happened after the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, a conflict that saw the United States back Tehran’s Iraqi adversaries. The war taught Tehran three lessons it never unlearned: that Washington wants the Islamic Republic gone, that Iran stands essentially alone in the world, and that it cannot survive a direct, overt fight with the U.S. and Israel.
Within 48 hours this week, Iran filled six of the most important posts in its battered military and security establishment. Read together with the biographies and mandates behind them, the appointments show how Tehran is drawing lessons from successive wars and preparing for a prolonged period of insecurity, without proving it has abandoned negotiation.
In an August 9 interview with Axios, when asked about the endless swings of the Iran standoff, he shrugged it off as familiar territory. “It’ll work out in the end. It always does. It’s like a chess game.”
Since 1967, Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been a contested feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ultimate disposition of the settlements and ongoing activity related to their growth have repeatedly defied agreement in negotiations over a resolution to the conflict.
The Houthis are a political-military faction and Zaydi religious movement founded in northwestern Yemen in the 1980s. A key member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance with links to other militant organizations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the group has continued to pose a threat to Western interests on a global scale.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a proposed multinational infrastructure initiative aimed at upgrading connectivity between the three regions through integrated trade, energy, and digital networks. Announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, IMEC is envisioned partially as a counterweight to China’s international infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative.
After a decade of post-Arab Spring isolation, Turkey’s leaders have recognized that their ambition to position the country as an agenda-setter on the world stage requires active engagement in all directions. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s consolidation of executive authority has centralized foreign policy decision-making and tied it to his domestic political priorities, transforming the country’s revisionist approach to one shaped primarily by personal and pragmatic interests.
المدونات الصوتية
التركيز على الشرق الأوسط
البودكاست الأسبوعي الرائد لمعهد الشرق الأوسط حول السياسة الخارجية الأمريكية والقضايا السياسية والاجتماعية المعاصرة في الشرق الأوسط.
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.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Allen Keiswetter, Gerald Feierstein, Eran Etzion, and Randa Slim provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including this week’s G-20 Summit, the ongoing G.C.C. crisis, Indian PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel, and the Astana talks on Syria.
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
Rouhani Calls for “Revolutionary” Foreign Policy to “Isolate America”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that all centers of power in Iran should work together to seek the support of European and Asian powers to isolate the United States, the
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.
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.
Al-Qaeda Affiliate and Ahrar al-Sham Compete for Control in Idlib
Idlib is currently the site of increasing competition between the two most dominant armed coalitions, the al-Qaeda-linked Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (H.T.S.) and Ahrar al-Sham. The province has witnessed limited airstrikes since a de-escalation agreement, which came into effect on May 5, was brokered by Russia, Turkey, and Iran at the Astana talks. Idlib was one of four areas labeled as a de-escalation zone.
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.
The ongoing Saudi-led blockade of Qatar came as a surprise to the international community, including the European Union. When Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Egypt, and Bahrain cut ties with the Qatari monarchy, the E.U. found itself in a new and complex political reality. Though the intra-Gulf crisis had been simmering for quite a long time, it seems that the Europeans were not prepared for such a scenario. Ultimately, Europe must consider the severity of the current crisis’ potential diplomatic and economic consequences.
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.
تُعد المجلة الرئيسية لمعهد الشرق الأوسط أقدم مطبوعة محكّمة مكرّسة لدراسة الشرق الأوسط الحديث، وتغطي المجلة الرئيسية في المعهد السياسة والمجتمع والثقافة في المنطقة.
