Washington says it doesn’t know who runs Iran. Tehran insists its leadership is united. MEI Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to sort out where the truth lies. They look at the small circle of political and military figures now steering the war effort in Tehran: who they are, how they make decisions, and how unified they really are. They also discuss the current state of US-Iran negotiations, the role of the upcoming midterm elections in the United States, and how the Islamic Republic is preparing for a potential renewal of conflict afterward.
Crude oil is flowing out of the Gulf again, but the market is no better prepared for another disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. It has assembled a temporary system for managing one. Crude exports from the Gulf, excluding Iran, returned to pre-war levels in September, while total Gulf shipments reached 15.5 million barrels a day, more than 80% of the pre-conflict volume.
Many of the immediate consequences of the Israeli-American war with Iran are already clear. The further emergence of drones and missiles as dominant weapons of war; the danger to the global economy from the threats to vital chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb; and the inadequacy of US weapons procurement, among other issues, have garnered widespread and entirely merited attention.
Zarif shrugs off concerns about British-Iranian mother jailed in Iran
In an interview with the BBC Arabic, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that the fate of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is only in the hands of the Iranian Judiciary. He urged the British government to respect the “independence” of the judicial branch in the Islamic Republic.
Bahraini FM says Iran-linked bank sponsored terrorism in island kingdom
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said that the country’s authorities have uncovered an Iranian bank that was financing acts of terrorism in the island kingdom.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Bilal Y. Saab, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and Charles Lister provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the latest violence in Gaza, Gulf Shield-1 military drills, the Taliban’s resistance to peace, and the approaching Syria summit in Ankara.
Tehran views US withdrawal from Syria as victory for “axis of resistance”
President Donald Trump’s Thursday remarks about an imminent withdrawal of US troops has drawn a great deal of attention in the Iranian press. While some state-run outlets and those affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards welcome Trump’s announcement as a victory for Iran and its regional proxies, others remain skeptical about whether Washington will actually press ahead with such a plan.
IRGC targets domestic rivals in anniversary message
Commemorating the 39th anniversary of the March 30, 1979 referendum, which established the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a statement warning against foreign threats against “the track record of the Islamic Republic.” The statement cautioned that “the front of Arroga
Iranian commander rules out missile negotiation in defiance of Western pressure
A senior Iranian military official said today that Tehran would not negotiate over its missile program with Western powers, Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported.
Iranian Arabs stage rallies in Khuzestan to protest state-sanctioned discrimination
Scores of Iranian Arabs staged anti-government protest rallies in western Khuzestan Province after the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) excluded the Arab community’s cultural identity in a New Year TV show that was ironically supposed to showcase Iran’s diversity. The protesters called the program aired on the state-run TV “insulting” and demanded an apology from the IRIB.
Limit Iran's missiles? Sure, but first come up with a plan
Critics of the Iran nuclear deal have consistently argued that one of its major flaws is that it didn’t address Tehran’s ballistic missile program. Imposing limits on those weapons of terror, opponents of the deal say, is a primary U.S. objective and should have been part of our negotiating strategy with the Iranians from the beginning.
Arab leaders call on Iran to stop destabilizing role in region
The UN Security Council should hold Iran responsible for disrupting regional and international security and providing ballistic missiles to the Houthi militants in Yemen to attack Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations, the speaker of the Arab Parliament has said.
Ahmadinejad’s aide targets Judiciary and Quds Force in new open letter
In a scathing open letter published online, a close aide to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has continued the public feud between the former president’s team and the country’s judicial and military institutions. In the letter addressed to the Judiciary, Hamid Baqaei, a former vice president who was recently arrested on embezzlement charges, questioned the fairness and transparency of the country’s judicial system. He also crossed a regime red line by raising questions about the country’s secretive Quds Force and its chief commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani.
Saudi Arabia jails two on charges of working with Iran and Iraqi Hezbollah to attack Eastern Province
The Criminal Court of Riyadh today sentenced two Saudi citizens on charges of engaging in acts of terrorism and conspiring with Iran and its regional proxies to destabilize Saudi Arabia, the Arab press reported.
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.
