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 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.
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.
A senior Iranian lawmaker has warned that the United States is “plotting a new invasion” by sending more troops to Iraq and Syria.
Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said on Monday that the governmen
Hengameh Shahidi, a reformist political activist on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin Prison, has written a will, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) reports. “Hengameh called me today (Saturday, April 1) and she was in very bad shape,” Nahid Kermanshahi, Shahidi’s mother told CHRI. “She has chest pains and doesn’t have the strength to walk…She said she had handed her will to the interrogator.” In the two-page letter, Shahidi has said that if she dies in the jail, President Hassan Rouhani, Intelligence Ministry and the Judiciary should be held to account.
Simin Fahandej, the spokesman of the Baha’i International Community, has told Radio Farda that Iranian authorities have arrested five members of the Baha’i community in the Iranian province of Isfahan.
A spokesman of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) has called on the United States and its allies to withdraw their forces from Mosul.
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.
