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.
A prominent Iran-backed Iraqi militia group fighting in Syria has announced that the U.S. military strike will not change the trajectory of the Syrian war, the Iranian media reports.
A senior Iranian cleric defended the regime of Bashar al-Assad and accused the United States of providing terrorists with chemical weapons in Syria.
While Iraq’s efforts to dislodge the Islamic State (ISIS) from Mosul have proceeded better than expected, the Iraqi political class must now face the complicated and divisive matters that it has failed to address for years. While the battle to liberate all of Iraq from ISIS is not over, three issues remain sources of tension: decentralization, the presence of foreign troops in the north, and the status of disputed territories such as Kirkuk, between the Kurds and the central government.
While more evidence is surfacing that suggests the Syrian army may have been behind the chemical attack that killed scores of civilians in Syria, Iranian media outlets affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) continue to defend the regime of Bashar al-Assad. They argue that Damascus was not responsible for the killings. “Without doubt, the claims by Syrian opposition groups and some western and Arab countries that the Syrian army has used chemical weapons in Idlib can be categorically rejected.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has reacted angrily to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s latest comments about Tehran’s destabilizing role in the Middle East, the ministry’s official website re
The deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) has said that he takes a pride in being a “
The Iranian and Afghan delegations to the 136th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union have had acrimonious exchanges over Tehran’s support for the Taliban, the Iranian media reports.
Scores of Sunni Balochs demonstrated in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province on Tuesday to protest the detention of a Sunni religious leader, the Iranian media reports.
Russia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) are developing a unique bilateral relationship. The latest manifestation of growing ties occurred at the biennial International Defense Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) in February when Russia and the U.A.E. announced a deal to co-produce a fifth-generation jet fighter in the Emirates. Although Moscow and Abu Dhabi have been cooperating on a range of economic and security issues for years, this was an unprecedented move.
The Iranian government has said it has “reservations” about the appointment of Pakistan’s former army chief, retired Gen. Raheel Sharif, as the head of the Saudi-led coalition.
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.
