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.
On Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the United States and its regional allies that stability in the Middle East cannot be achieved without Tehran’s help.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that the Islamic Republic would continue its ballistic missile program despite Washington’s concerns, the Iranian media reported. “American authorities should know that whenever we need to test a missile for technical reasons, we will carry it out. And we will not wait for them or their permission,” he said defiantly after U.S. and Saudi leaders criticized Tehran’s regional policies at the Riyadh summit.
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has blamed the United States for regional instability and claimed that the withdrawal of the U.S. forces would restore peace and security in the Middle East. “The only way to [restore] peace and tranquility to the region is the departure of the Americans and the renunciation of aggressive and terrorist operations by dependent and reactionary regimes against independent countries,” Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said on Sunday. His remarks were a reaction to the latest comments by U.S.
The editor of Iran’s most prominent hardline newspaper says President Hassan Rouhani’s “submissiveness” and campaign rhetoric have emboldened the United States and its Arab allies to threaten a military attack against the Islamic Republic. “Mr.
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Iran’s presidential vote is now a two-man race. Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf’s 11th-hour withdrawal means that incumbent Hassan Rouhani will face the 56-year-old Ebrahim Raisi, a close associate of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a man who was at the heart of the decision to mass execute political dissidents in the late 1980s.
Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said today that his agency had foiled plots by several groups that wanted to disrupt the country’s security during the presidentia
The Hashd al-Shaabi – Iraqi paramilitary forces known as the Popular Mobilization Forces – captured an air base from the Islamic State on Thursday, the Iranian media reports.
Four years ago, Hassan Rouhani assumed the Iranian presidency on the back of a campaign pledge to alleviate Iran’s economic hardship by striving for the removal of sanctions. With nuclear-related sanctions removed, blame for Iran’s continued economic misery has either been put on remaining U.S. unilateral sanctions that present a hurdle to large-scale European involvement in the country, or Iran’s hardliners blocking the president’s economic reforms. Yet, Rouhani’s own economic doctrine has significantly contributed to his administration’s failure to improve the lives of Iranians.
May 18, 2017 – Iranians are heading to the polls on May 19 for a presidential election that could have serious consequences for the country.
Just hours before the news of U.S. airstrikes in Syria broke out, Iran’s Fars News Agency (F.N.A.) reported that the Lebanese Hezbollah had dispatched 3,000 fighters near the border-crossing al-Tanf passageway along Syria’s borders with Iraq and Jordan to “thwart the U.S. plots” and take the control of the Palmyra-Baghdad road.
Earlier today, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced new sanctions against nine American individuals and entities for sponsoring terrorism or action aga
An article in Tasnim News Agency says Iran’s “military diplomacy” was instrumental in compelling Pakistan to take concrete actions against terrorist groups. “After the attack by terrorist groups that martyred 10 Iranian border guards, it was the powerful words of Major General [Mohammad] Bagheri that made Pakistani political leaders to take practical actions to control the borders,” wrote the outlet, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.).
Accusations are mounting that Iran is ramping up its engagement with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Like a lot of Iran’s murky foreign policy, it is difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. The three questions that need to be answered to clear up the murky relationship between Iran and the Taliban are: why the change in Iran’s policy; when did this policy change occur; and what is the level of support afforded to the Taliban?
Unlikeliest of Allies
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.
