On November 18, 2019, The Intercept and The New York Times published 700 pages of classified Iranian intelligence cables that illustrated the depth of Tehran’s penetration of Iraqi politics, intelligence and the military. The cables, written between 2013 and 2015, also detailed meticulous efforts…
Iran Policy
On November 3, Iran’s supreme leader renewed the ban on talks with the United States. “No problem will be solved with meetings and with negotiations,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told students on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. “The same wolfish qualities…
After Turkey’s invasion of Syria on October 9, Iran called on its longstanding ally and neighbor to rethink its plan to create a buffer zone inside Syria. “We are calling on our friendly and brotherly neighbor Turkey to act with more patience and restraint, and to revise its decision and chosen…
By Andrew Hanna
In April 2016, Iran, India and Afghanistan signed an agreement to develop the Iranian port of Chabahar as a shipping hub with rail links that connected India to Afghanistan through Iran—and circumvented Pakistan. Chabahar is on the Gulf of Oman and is Iran’s only port with access…
On December 10, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged Europe to work with Iran and not follow in “lock step” behind the United States. In an op-ed published in The New York Times, he argued that the United States has proven unreliable on foreign policy since President Donald Trump…
In November, regional and world powers renewed efforts to end the six-year conflict in Syria and discussed ways to combat ISIS and other terrorist organizations. A flurry of meetings and phone calls came just days after ISIS lost its last stronghold in Syria, Abu Kamal. The following is a rundown…
On November 4, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned, blaming Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah for destabilizing the region. The Arab world would "cut off the hands that wickedly extend to it [Iran]," he warned. Hariri, leader of the Future Movement Party, is the leader of Lebanon’s…
President Donald Trump reportedly asked French President Emmanuel Macron to broker a conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, according to several administration and foreign officials who spoke with The Washington Post. The three leaders were all in New York City in September for the U.N…
On November 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iran for the first time since 2015. In a meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Putin voiced support for the nuclear deal and said that Russia objects to “any uniliteral change” to it. “We oppose linking Iran’s nuclear program…
On October 18, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned President Trump’s policy towards Iran and the nuclear deal as “nonsense.” But he emphasized that Iran will not be the first one to tear up the agreement. Khamenei also expressed frustration with European powers. He urged them to oppose…