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 governor of Yemen’s Jawf governorate, in north central Yemen bordering Saudi Arabia, told a press conference, December 15, that the Yemeni army had captured “a large number of militias, including Iranian experts and others from Hizballah… ,” according to al-Arabiya. The governor said that the Iranians and Hizballah personnel were providing the Houthi militias with information and support.
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A top Iranian religious figure has called on the Shiite minority in Pakistan to “stay united” and remain active and influential in society. Mohammad Hassan Akhtari, who is the head of the Iranian-controlled Ahl-ul Bayt – a Shiite-centric religious propaganda arm of the Iranian state – said that Iran “has no problems with majority of the Sunnis” but that its “fundamental conflict is with Wahhabis.”
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On December 15, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani delivered a speech at the 30th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran. He spoke about the need for Muslim unity to fight “colonialist countries” and the “Zionist regime [Israel]” on the same day Iranian-backed militia fighters massacred Muslim civilians in Aleppo. He also called for collection action to fight terrorism.
A hardline Iranian news site that is controlled by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) continues to seek to incite the Bahraini Shiite population. Quoting a Bahraini activist, the site propagated that the “international posture toward the political situation in Bahrain is merely for show” and aimed to “neutralize the Shiite opposition in the country.”
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Fatima Zolghadr, a parliamentarian from Tehran and a member of reformist Hope Faction, hailed the fall of Aleppo as a victory for the Iran-led “resistance” forces.
Tehran’s unwavering support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad continues to irk the Turks, according to press reports. On December 16, the Turkish prime minister, Binali Yildirim, and Iran’s vice president, Eshaq Jahangiri, spoke on the phone. The discussion was ostensibly about Jahangiri’s upcoming visit to Turkey, but also focused on the Syrian civil war.
The authorities in the Iranian city of Shiraz have handed 74 people prison sentences ranging from one to eight years. The so-called crime of those sentenced was to gather for an unauthorized event at the tomb of Cyrus the Great, an ancient Persian king. The event happened in the last week of October and led to an outcry among hardliners. One hardliner, Ayatollah Hamedani, called the event an “anti-revolutionary” gesture that needs to be confronted.
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This week again Iranian leaders have been busy publicizing themselves as “promoters of Islamic unity.” On the one hand, Iranian leaders, like President Hassan Rouhani, speak of the illusive “great conspiracy” supposedly concocted by what he calls “big powers” to split the Muslim world.
Iran’s supreme authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told a visiting Palestinian militant leader that “Israel will not exist in 25 years.” Khamenei made the remarks to Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, head o
The bloody fall of Aleppo, Syrian opposition forces’ last major urban stronghold, is now certain. Without outside assistance, the rebel groups found it impossible to withstand a ruthless air and ground onslaught by the Iranian-led military forces that are propping up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
In response to the renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) by the US Congress, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to start the development of nuclear-powered ships.
In a remark that may stir concern in the United States, Israel and the Gulf region, a senior commander of the Islamic Republic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says his country has increased the production of ballistic missiles despite international sanctions.
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s remarks at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit about the need to “push back against Iran’s aggressive” actions in the Middle East have provoked angry reactions and threats from Iranian leaders.
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.
