Iran

Trump’s South Caucasus Peacemaking Is His Most Successful, but It Remains Unfinished
  • Commentary

    • Trump’s South Caucasus Peacemaking Is His Most Successful, but It Remains Unfinished

    Of all the fronts in President Trump’s peacemaking agenda, the South Caucasus has delivered the most concrete results. The August 2025 Washington Declaration, signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan and witnessed by Trump, marked an important step toward peace in the region. The two sides initialed a peace agreement and advanced plans to unblock regional connectivity, including through the establishment of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), which would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhijevan exclave through southern Armenia. Implementation of TRIPP has since made notable progress, but construction has yet to start. A breakthrough on those two tracks would, in turn, unlock Armenia–Türkiye normalization, transforming a long-fractured region into an area of trade and interdependence.

    The Iran War Was Always About Regime Change
  • Commentary

    • The Iran War Was Always About Regime Change

    Wars don’t just end. They get interpreted, reinterpreted, and turned into strategic doctrine. That is what happened after the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, a conflict that saw the United States back Tehran’s Iraqi adversaries. The war taught Tehran three lessons it never unlearned: that Washington wants the Islamic Republic gone, that Iran stands essentially alone in the world, and that it cannot survive a direct, overt fight with the U.S. and Israel.

    Iran’s New War Cabinet Is Really an Old One
  • Analysis

    • Iran’s New War Cabinet Is Really an Old One

    Within 48 hours this week, Iran filled six of the most important posts in its battered military and security establishment. Read together with the biographies and mandates behind them, the appointments show how Tehran is drawing lessons from successive wars and preparing for a prolonged period of insecurity, without proving it has abandoned negotiation.

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    U.S. Lawmakers Push for Tighter Sanctions on Iran
  • Analysis

    • U.S. Lawmakers Push for Tighter Sanctions on Iran

    A bipartisan group of U.S. senators today introduced a bill that would impose tighter U.S. sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program and other non-nuclear activities, Reuters reports.

    March 23, 2017

    Ahmad Majidyar

    Tillerson’s Remark on U.S. Long-Term Strategy in Syria and Iraq Alarms I.R.G.C.
  • Analysis

    • Tillerson’s Remark on U.S. Long-Term Strategy in Syria and Iraq Alarms I.R.G.C.

    U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s March 22 remark that the United States and its allies will remain engaged in Syria and Iraq long after the Islamic State is defeated has provoked an angry reaction in Iran.

    March 23, 2017

    Ahmad Majidyar

    Rouhani’s Letter to Supreme Leader: We’ll Work to Strengthen “Resistance Economy”
  • Analysis

    • Rouhani’s Letter to Supreme Leader: We’ll Work to Strengthen “Resistance Economy”

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has pledged that his government will do its utmost to implement policies that will strengthen the country’s “resistance economy” and stimulate growth. In a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday, Rouhani emphasized that his administration planned to hold a cabinet session to discuss Supreme Leader’s latest instructions and explore ways of increasing domestic production and creating jobs – particularly for young Iranians.

    March 22, 2017

    Ahmad Majidyar

    Javad Zarif: Iran “Completely Ready” to Resume Nuclear Program
  • Analysis

    • Javad Zarif: Iran “Completely Ready” to Resume Nuclear Program

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned that his government is “completely ready” to restart its nuclear program if the United States fails to adhere to the 2015 nuclear agreement. “If America reneges on the deal to the level that the continuation of the J.C.P.O.A. [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] harms our national interests, the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely ready to return to the pre-J.C.P.O.A.

    March 21, 2017

    Ahmad Majidyar

    Jailed Female Activist Accuses Rouhani of Colluding with I.R.G.C. ahead of Elections
  • Analysis

    • Jailed Female Activist Accuses Rouhani of Colluding with I.R.G.C. ahead of Elections

    Hengameh Shahidi, a reformist activist and journalist who was recently imprisoned in Iran, has accused President Hassan Rouhani of striking a deal with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) ahead of the country’s presidential elections slated for May this year.

    March 21, 2017

    Ahmad Majidyar

    Iran-Supported Iraqi Militia Groups Make Further Advances in Western Mosul
  • Analysis

    • Iran-Supported Iraqi Militia Groups Make Further Advances in Western Mosul

    The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have seized several villages in northwestern Mosul from the Islamic State in recent days and are planning to enter the strategic city of Tal Afar, the Iranian media reports.

    March 21, 2017

    Ahmad Majidyar

    U.S. Designation of Iran-Backed Bahraini Militants Prompts Angry Reaction from Tehran
  • Analysis

    • U.S. Designation of Iran-Backed Bahraini Militants Prompts Angry Reaction from Tehran

    The U.S. Department of State’s designation of two Iran-backed Bahraini militants as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (S.D.G.T.) has prompted an angry reaction from Tehran. Iran’s Foreign Ministry called allegations by Washington that Tehran supports terrorist activities in Bahrain as “baseless and politically-motivated,” and accused the U.S.

    March 20, 2017

    Ahmad Majidyar

    Latest Crackdown in Iran Points to I.R.G.C.’s Meddling in Elections
  • Analysis

    • Latest Crackdown in Iran Points to I.R.G.C.’s Meddling in Elections

    A number of senior Iranian lawmakers have criticized the country’s security and intelligence authorities for the latest wave of crackdown on journalists and social and political activists.

    March 20, 2017

    Ahmad Majidyar

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