Iran

The deliberations concerning the settlement of the war in Syria have resumed as part of the ongoing Astana Process: a delegation headed by the senior adviser to the Iranian minister of foreign affairs, which visited Damascus in mid-August, met in Geneva with the Turkish deputy foreign minister, and with the special representative of the Russian president to Syria. In late August, the Iranian deputy of the minister of defense and executive director of the organization for social security of the armed forces of Iran visited Syria. The visit of the Iraqi prime minister to Washington, as part of the strategic dialogue between Iraq and the United States, aroused criticism in Tehran. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, lambasted the normalization deal reached between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, calling it “a betrayal of the Muslim world, the Arab world, the countries of the region and Palestine.” Read more...

For the first time since signing an agreement for military and security cooperation with Syria on July 8, Iranian officials made comments with regards to the agreement. Under the deal, Iran will provide Syria with advanced air defense systems. The spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces threatened that if Israel persists with its “criminal acts,” it will experience Iran’s mighty response. At the center of Iranian political efforts over the past week were the first visit of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kazimi, to Tehran, and the visit of the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to Baghdad. The Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet) uncovered and arrested a cell of the Palestinian Popular Front, which intended to carry out attacks with Iranian financing and involvement. Read more...