Iran

Spotlight on Iran (December 9, 2021 – December 23, 2021)

Syrian pro-opposition sources reported that Iran deployed new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the T-4 Air Base of the Syrian Army in eastern Homs and began operating them in reconnaissance missions as part of the campaign led by Iranian-backed forces in the Badia desert. The Iranian deputy president met with the Syrian ambassador to Tehran and discussed bilateral ties and developments in the region. The Iranian Ambassador to Yemen, Hasan Irloo, has died of COVID-19. The spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennet, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), declaring that the visit destabilizes the security of the region and is contrary to the interests of the Muslim world and Arab countries. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (December 2, 2021 – December 9, 2021)

For the first time since Ebrahim Raisi assumed the position of President of Iran, the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faysal Miqdad, arrived for a two-day visit in Iran. Against the backdrop of the visit of the Iranian minister of industry and trade in Syria and the opening of the Iranian trade fair in Damascus in late November, senior Iranian officials working in the economic sphere renewed their call to solve the issues hindering the expansion of trade ties between the two countries. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (November 18, 2021 – December 2, 2021)

A prominent Iranian commentator denied in an interview to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the unconfirmed reports that Syria’s leadership was behind the decision to end the tenure of the commander of the Iranian forces in Syria. In late November, the Fatemiyoun Brigade, an Afghan militia operating under IRGC command in Syria, carried out a military exercise with special forces, ground troops and armored vehicles. The Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, stated in a TV interview that since September, the organization has paid over 10 million dollars to import fuel and diesel from Iran to Lebanon. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (November 4, 2021 – November 18, 2021)

The Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Syria, Javad Ghafari, concluded his deployment to Syria and conducted a last round of visits to bases of the Shia militias operating in Syria. Following a visit of the head of the Iranian Organization for Pilgrimage to Damascus, Iran and Syria agreed to resume the pilgrimage visits of Iranian citizens to Shia holy sites in Syria, which was halted following the outbreak of COVID-19. Senior Iranian officials condemned the attempted assassination of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kazimi, carried out on the night of November 7, and denied any Iranian involvement in the event. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (October 21, 2021 – November 4, 2021)

American officials assessed that Iran is behind the October 20th drone attack on the military base in al-Tanf, southern Syria, which serves the International Coalition led by the United States. A Syrian opposition website reported the opening of five new offices of the pro-Iranian militia al-Hashemiyoun in the Deir Ezzor region. The head of the Iranian Trade Development Organization announced that Iran and Syria will sign a free trade agreement between them at the end of November. The Iranian ambassador to Baghdad announced in late October that from now on, Iranian citizens will no longer require a visa when entering Iraq via airports. On October 27, Tehran witnessed a summit of ministers of foreign affairs of the countries neighboring on Afghanistan as well as Russia. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (October 7, 2021 – October 21, 2021)

Iranian media outlets did not go beyond offering basic news reports concerning the assassination of Midhat al-Saleh, who was tasked by the Assad regime of managing the “Golan file.” In early October, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein-Amir Abdollahian, visited Syria and Lebanon. The spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the deadly clashes that erupted on October 14 in Beirut, and accused Israel of backing those who fired at Hezbollah and Amal supporters. Several Iranian media outlets voiced concern about the results of the parliamentary elections in Iraq. Read more...

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Iran

Exporting the Islamic Revolution was one of the Iranian Revolution’s original, basic objectives. Iran seeks regional hegemony and more than that – dominance of the Muslim world. To that end, Iran has developed a network of underground organizations and terrorist groups within Islamic (especially Shiite) communities in the Middle East and around the world, including Africa, Latin America, Asia and beyond. In the Middle East, Iran is leading an anti-American and anti-Israeli Shiite axis struggling against the Middle Eastern Sunni countries led by Saudi Arabia. The Iranian axis (the “Axis of Resistance”) includes Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and Bahrain. In these countries, Iran handles proxy organizations operating to promote Iran’s interests.

Israeli-Iranian relations had their ups and downs. During the reign of the Shah of Iran, the two countries were allied politically. After the revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, Iran revoked its recognition of Israel and ended all official relations with it.

To implement its anti-Israeli policies, Iran has broadened its ties to the terrorist organizations operating against Israel. Iran instigates terrorist organizations, especially the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, to attack Israel, and finances and arms both organizations. In recent years, large shipments of weapons from Iran have been intercepted as they were en route to the Palestinian terrorist organizations.

To promote its regional and global interests and aspirations, Iran is developing military nuclear capabilities. It is also developing long-range missiles and warheads which can reach Israel, the rest of the Middle East, and Europe.