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.
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.
In an August 9 interview with Axios, when asked about the endless swings of the Iran standoff, he shrugged it off as familiar territory. “It’ll work out in the end. It always does. It’s like a chess game.”
Since 1967, Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been a contested feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ultimate disposition of the settlements and ongoing activity related to their growth have repeatedly defied agreement in negotiations over a resolution to the conflict.
The Houthis are a political-military faction and Zaydi religious movement founded in northwestern Yemen in the 1980s. A key member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance with links to other militant organizations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the group has continued to pose a threat to Western interests on a global scale.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a proposed multinational infrastructure initiative aimed at upgrading connectivity between the three regions through integrated trade, energy, and digital networks. Announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, IMEC is envisioned partially as a counterweight to China’s international infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative.
After a decade of post-Arab Spring isolation, Turkey’s leaders have recognized that their ambition to position the country as an agenda-setter on the world stage requires active engagement in all directions. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s consolidation of executive authority has centralized foreign policy decision-making and tied it to his domestic political priorities, transforming the country’s revisionist approach to one shaped primarily by personal and pragmatic interests.
Podcasts
Middle East Focus
MEI’s flagship weekly podcast on US foreign policy and contemporary political and social issues in the Middle East.
MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis engages friends, colleagues, and policy experts in casual conversations on the most important happenings in the Middle East.
Sino-Algerian Relations: On a Path to Realizing Their Full Potential?
China’s footprint in Algeria has expanded since 2001, much as it has throughout the Middle East and the continent of Africa. In 2014, the Sino-Algerian bilateral relationship was elevated to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” and since then has further developed. This essay discusses the roots, substance and scope, and limitations of the blossoming Sino-Algerian relationship.
I.R.G.C.: No Need to Boost Our Missile Range as They Reach Most U.S. Bases in Mideast
Iran does not need to increase the range of its ballistic missiles beyond 2,000 kilometers at present because American military bases and interests lie within this radius, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) said on Tuesday.
Iran Will Reopen All Border Crossings with Iraqi Kurdistan Region
The chief of staff of Iranian Armed Forces said on Monday that the country will reopen all its border crossings with the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Iranian media reported.
Akram al-Kaabi, the leader of Iranian-sponsored Iraqi militia group Harakat al-Nujaba, visited prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Sheikh Afif al-Nabulsi to discuss regional affairs, Iranian and
Kayhan Warns: “The Mother of All Sanctions Has Arrived”
A front-page article in Kayhan newspaper, entitled “The Mother of All Sanctions Has Arrived,” warns that the implementation of the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act” – a congressional bill that
Barzani Stands Down as K.R.G. President | Monday Briefing
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Randa Slim, Yousef Munayyer, Charles Lister, Charles Schmitz, and Alex Vatanka provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including President Barzani’s decision to step down from the KRG, the Trump administation’s silent response to Israeli settlement expansion in Jerusalem , the Armed Syrian Opposition’s attendance of the seventh round of Astana Talks, Saudi foreign minister blaming Iran for lack of progress in peace talks in Yemen, and President Rouhani’s failure to advance the reform cause in Iran.
Iran Rules out Inspection of Its Military Sites in Defiance of U.S.
Defying U.S. pressure, Iranian leaders said on Monday that they would not allow international inspectors to visit the country’s military sites. Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with visiting chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano in Tehran, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, claimed that there are no provisions within the 2015 nuclear agreement or in the Additional Protocol that would obligate Tehran to permit foreign inspection of its military installations.
Heads of Government Branches Discuss Ways to Counteract U.S. Sanctions
The heads of Iran’s executive, legislative and judicial branches met today to discuss how Iran should respond to the Trump administration’s aggressive policy vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic. In the meeting, President Hassan Rouhani, Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani and Judicary Chief Sadegh Larijani focused on the latest U.S. sanctions and their impact on the country’s economy. Rouhani said the United States is “plotting” to undermine the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement Iran signed with world powers in July 2015.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited Turkey on Wednesday to discuss potential joint steps against northern Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (K.R.G.) following last month’s independence referendum. Ankara is hoping to influence Iraqi politics by cultivating close ties to Baghdad, but the newly forged Turkish-Iraqi alliance is unlikely to hold, leaving Turkey isolated in the post-referendum Iraq.
P.M.F. Spokesman: We’ll Hold U.S. Responsible for Calling Muhandis “Terrorist”
Leaders of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) rushed to defend Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the paramilitary forces’ chief operational commander, after U.S. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert called Muhandis a “terrorist” at a press briefing on Thursday. “These remarks indicate a direct threat to Muhandis’ life and we hold America responsible for any attempt or harm to the life of the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces,” P.M.F.
Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Forces Advancing to Capture al-Qaim Near Syrian Border
The chief operational commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (P.M.F.) issued a statement yesterday outlining plans for the paramilitary forces and Iraqi troops to liberate the towns of Rawa and al-Qaim on the Euphrates River in western al-Anbar Province near the border with Syria. “We seek to lock down the entire Iraqi-Syrian border from north to south,” the statement said. In an interview with the Lebanese al-Mayadeen news outlet earlier today, P.M.F.
Top Clerics Back Khamenei in Rejecting Missile Talks with West
Senior Iranian clerics on Friday backed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s earlier remarks that Iran’s defense capabilities, including its controversial missile program, are non-negotiable. During their Friday prayer sermons, the clerics emphasized that the Islamic Republic will defy international pressure and continue to further enhance its military assets. They also encouraged worshippers to participate in the upcoming National Day against Global Arrogance to condemn the Trump administration’s anti-Iran policies.
I.R.G.C. Claims It Dismantled “Terrorist Team” in Northwest Iran
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) announced on Thursday that its forces “dismantled a terrorist team” in Chaldaran region of northwestern Azerbaijan Province. According to a statement released by the public relations department of I.R.G.C.’s Hamze Sayyid al-Shohada Base, four “terrorists’ were killed in armed clashes between I.R.G.C. forces and the militants.
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.
