Research & Commentary Results

As the Trump administration is threatening to walk away from the Iran nuclear agreement, an intense debate is taking place inside Iran about whether the Islamic Republic can count on Europe as a reliable partner against Washington’s “unilateralism.” During Friday prayers in Tehran today, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, called on the Rouhani government “not to rely on European support because if Europe has to choose between Iran and America, it will choose America.” He accused Washington of

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif today attended the funeral procession of Jalal Talabani, Iraqi Kurdish leader and former President, in the Sulaymaniyah city of Iraqi Kurdistan.

On September 25 Iraq’s Kurdish region pressed ahead with a controversial independence referendum. It had a high voter turnout of 73%, 93% of whom voted in favor of independence. The referendum is technically non-binding but it has sparked a political crisis with threats of action against the Kurdish region from its neighbors, Turkey and Iran, as well as Iraq’s central government. The United States also opposed the vote. MEI experts Randa Slim, Gonul Tol, and Ahmad Majidyar join host Paul Salem to discuss the implications of the vote and what happens next.

A senior Iranian parliamentary delegation visited Damascus and held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier today, the Iranian media reported. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, described Syria as a key pillar of the so-called “resistance front” against the United States and congratulated the Syrian president for the latest territorial gains by the Syrian Army and its foreign allies.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said today that Tehran will not renegotiate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – the nuclear accord Iran signed with world powers in July 2015. “Some want to have J.C.P.O.A.’s technical dimensions renegotiated, but this agreement is not open for negotiation,” he said in an interview with an Iranian state-run news agency.

Afghan Shiite militias fighting in Syria have made significant gains in military operations against the Islamic State in Deir Ezzor Province, the Iranian media reports.

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held “strategic talks” with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran today, three topics topped the agenda: Iraq, Syria and trade. The two sides agreed to assist the Baghdad government in preventing Iraqi Kurdistan from declaring independence, continue to cooperate closely in Syria to reduce violence and fight terrorism, and triple the current volume of trade between the two countries in the near future.

A senior Iranian military official said today that the country’s armed forces have staged wargames codenamed Eqtedar (Might) in the northwest close to Iraqi Kurdistan to send a clear message to the ene

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif held talks with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as well as with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha earlier today. According to Iranian media, the two sides discussed ways to boost bilateral relations, particularly in the economic sphere. In his meeting with his Qatari counterpart, Zarif said Iran is ready to establish “long-term relations” with Qatar and turn the Gulf nation into one of Iran’s economic partners.

Faleh al-Khazali, a leader of Iraqi militia group Kata’ib Sayyid Shuhada, has said that the governor of Kirkuk Province, Najmaldin Karim, is defying the law by staying in power and that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi should take over his responsibilities.

Iran’s news defense minister has said that Tehran will work more closely with Baghdad to confront Iraqi Kurdish leaders who seek independence. “We consider the separatist movement in Iraq detrimental for the region and we will spare no efforts to preserve regional countries’ stability and territorial integrity,” Brigadier General Amir Hatami said on Tuesday.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Alex Vatanka, Randa Slim, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Yousef Munayyer, and Gerald Feierstein provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to Iran, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s efforts to push for dialogue after the Kurdish independence referendum, the pending indictment of Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan, signs of progress in the reconcilliation attempt between Hamas and Fatah, and the Saudi king’s visit to Moscow.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry has called on the Iranian government to stop recruiting and sending Afghan refugees to fight in Syria, Afghan media and BBC Persian report. Ahmad Shekaib Mostaghni, the ministry’s spokesman, raised particular concern about Afghan children deployed by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) to the Syrian battlefield.

Turkey’s Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar held talks with senior Iranian leaders in Tehran earlier today to discuss ways of boosting military cooperation between the two countries, the Iranian media reported.

An Iranian official said on Monday that Tehran has stopped 600 trucks carrying about 13,000 tons of fuel to enter Iraqi Kurdistan as part of a trade embargo on Erbil, Fars News Agency reported. Seyed Hamid Hosseini, the head of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, told reporters in Tehran that the decision was taken after Iraqi Kurdish leaders held an independence referendum a week ago despite opposition from Baghdad and Tehran.