After decades of political setbacks, Iran’s former Revolutionary Guards commander has returned to the center of power. Is he an incidental beneficiary of war, or have observers underestimated him all along?
Gulf states and their partners are increasingly looking beyond their most immediate interests of containing the war with Iran. While recent talks between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran have kept de-escalation on the agenda, a broader regional security framework and non-aggression pact has also emerged, envisioning a longer-lasting solution to regional conflicts. The talks have yet to produce a settlement, but they reflect a growing recognition that Gulf security cannot depend entirely on Washington. Iran will still be there, and its neighbors will have to find ways of living with it.
Recent elections for the Israeli Knesset and American Congress may make less of a difference in the Middle East than some people think. Elections are significant indicators of national political trends, but do not always translate into changes in national security strategies. That is likely the case now in both nations.
The Iranian media sees the heightening tension between Qatar and Saudi Arabia – two member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (G.C.C.) – as an opportunity to weaken the U.S.-Arab alliance against Iran and its proxies in the region.
Reacting to today’s deadly bombing in Kabul, Iranian leaders and media outlets blamed U.S. policies and military presence in Afghanistan for growing extremism and instability in the war-ravaged country. Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the Kabul attack shows “Takfiri terrorism recognizes no boundaries” and called on regional countries to act in unison to fight terrorism instead of seeking help from outsiders – an apparent reference to the United States, which has more than 8,000 troops in Afghanistan training and assisting the country’s security forces.
In this week’s Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Gonul Tol, and Gerald Feierstein provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the beginning of the final phase of the battle to retake Mosul, Germany’s consideration for withdrawing troops from Turkey, and Qatar’s fragile relations within the G.C.C.
This essay examines the effects of the Saudi-Iran rivalry on Sunni-Shia relations in Pakistan. The essay shows that this rivalry, which has sectarian undertones and is partly responsible for the continuing Syrian civil war, has not only complicated Pakistan’s relations with Riyadh and Tehran but has exacerbated Sunni-Shia tensions domestically. Pakistan’s predicament has become even more complicated in light of the recent Trump-led Arab Islamic American Summit.
The head of an Iranian-supported Badr Organization said today that the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces have launched a new operation to secure areas along the Syrian-Iraqi border, Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), reported.
Iranian officials claim that the country has made significant progress in designing and producing satellites and is planning on launching several satellites into space in the near future.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the Islamic Republic is prepared to deploy troops to Syria to monitor the ceasefire, Iranian media reported. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghassemi added that Iran, Russia and Turkey are holding talks to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire and de-escalation zones in Syria. “If the required grounds are provided, there would be a need to deploy forces who can monitor the ceasefire,” the Iranian spokesman said.
Senior Iranian clerics at Friday prayers across the country today denounced the creation of an “Arab NATO” by the United States and its regional allies to fight terrorism and contain Iran’s regional ambitions.
The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces today seized nine villages around al-Qairawan region in western Mosul from the Islamic State, the Iranian media reports. According to a P.M.F. statement, the paramilitary forces “managed to reach the Sinjar mountains and block the road that connects Sinjar to al-Ba’aj.
The Iranian defense minister today claimed that the country has achieved self-sufficiency in the field of producing military hardware, particularly ballistic missiles, the Iranian media reported.
May 23, 2017 – Ahmad Majidyar, director of the IranObserved project at the Middle East Institute, joins host Paul Salem to discuss Hassan Rouhani’s reelection as president, the election’s implications for U.S.-Iran relations during the Trump presidency, and Iran’s broader strategy in regional conflicts.
The U.S. Senate Relations Committee today approved a new set of sanctions against Iran for its ballistic missile program, support for terrorism, and human rights abuses.
The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.
