Analysis

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s March 21st New Year address mostly dwelt on domestic political issues. But the Iranian leader also made a few references to the most pressing foreign and security issues, none of which bode well for Iran’s relations with the United States. Moreover, Khamenei tried to calm growing public anger amongst Iranians about the country’s costly military interventions in the Middle East.

A commander of the Iraqi paramilitary forces known as Hashd al-Shaabi has called for suspension of Asharq al-Awsat in Iraq, accusing the pan-Arab daily of propagating against the paramilitary forces. According Iran’s Fars News Agency, Karim al-Nouri, a commander of the Iranian-backed Badr Organization and a spokesman for Hashd al-Shaabi, was reacting to an article in the newspaper which warned about Hashd al-Shaabi turning into a Shiite-only organization in Iraq.

Recent media reports suggesting that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman plan to pay a historic visit to Iraq has alarmed Iran and its Iraqi allies. Baghdad and Riyadh have not confirmed the reports, but Iranian-backed politicians and militia commanders in Iraq have launched a campaign against the Crown Prince’s potential visit, rejecting latest steps by the Baghdad government to improve ties with Riyadh and questioning the timing of bin Salman’s trip ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections.

The blossoming of Turkey’s relations with China has occurred against the backdrop of Turkey’s apparent strategic estrangement from the West. But have Turkey and China succeeded in developing the full-blown “strategic partnership” envisaged in their 2010 joint communiqué? Relatedly, is Turkey on the verge of shedding its strategic links with the West in favor of consolidating them with China? This article aims to shed light on these two questions.

A senior member of the Palestinian Hamas has said the militant group and Tehran have recently managed to repair their relations which were strained as a result of the two sides’ differences over the Syrian conflict previously. According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas official, told a Palestinian TV that Hamas’ relationship with the Islamic Republic is “excellent” – adding that Iran responds positively to the group’s requests which are often denied by other countries.

The head of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), an Iranian-supported Iraqi militia group, has said that the country’s paramilitary forces known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) will remain a military organization and participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections at the same time.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Paul Salem, Charles Lister, Jean-François Seznec, and Jonathan M. Winer provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the shaping of U.S.-Saudi relations, Pompeo’s appointment to secretary of state, Turkey’s capture of Afrin, the future of Saudi energy, and Egypt’s efforts to unite the Libyan military.

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s relations with the regime have reached a new low since the Judiciary imprisoned his associates Hamid Baqaei and Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei on embezzlement charges. Reacting to the Judiciary’s ruling, Ahmadinejad disclosed the charges against Baqaei in detail, which shed light on the operational mode of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC QF).

The March 6 arrest of Hossein Shirazi, son of prominent Iraqi Persian cleric Ayatollah Sadeq Shirazi, has triggered protests by non-Iranian Shiites – signifying the inherent tensions between the Iranian state and transnational Shiite clergy institutions.

Earlier today, worshippers in the central Iranian province of Isfahan used the occasion of Friday prayers to protest against the government. According to Radio Farda, the protesters turned their back to the Friday prayer leader as a gesture of disdain and chanted anti-regime slogans.

The foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Russia today held a trilateral meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, to discuss the Syrian conflict. In a statement after the meeting, the three sides stressed that they will work together to seek a political settlement to end the seven-year war and protect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Iraq’s Vice President Ayad Allawi has called on Iran to stop interference in the Iraqi internal affairs, Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, reported.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has said that Tehran will not negotiate with Western powers over its defense matters and called on the government to further enhance the country’s ballistic missile program.

Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, an Iranian-supported Iraqi militia group, has accused the US military forces of trying to rig Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections in Sunni regions, Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported.

On Monday, the Taliban briefly overrun a district in western Afghanistan’s Farah Province bordering Iran, just days after the insurgents killed several Afghan security forces in another district in the province. With Farah teetering on the brink of collapse, Afghan officials blame the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) for aiding the Taliban insurgents in western Afghanistan in an effort to torpedo construction projects and undermine stabilization efforts by the US-led coalition in the region.