Iran

A senior member of the Iranian Majlis stated Iran’s willingness to construct over 500,000 housing units in Syria per year. The Commander of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Esmail Qa’ani, paid yet another visit to Iraq in late January. Tehran’s decision to again restrict the flow of gas to Iraq due to the debts Iraq accrued to Iran has raised widespread anger in Iraq. Iran granted a permission for transferring diesel to Afghanistan through its territory for a period of three months. Read more...

On January 12, the Iranian minister of transportation arrived for a three-day visit to Syria, during which he met senior regime officials, chief among them President Assad, and discussed expanding trade and economic ties between the two countries. In recent days, the Commander of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Esmail Qa’ani, visited Iraq and met with the heads of Iraqi parliamentary blocs. An Iranian economic delegation led by the chairman of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce arrived for a visit in Iraq to discuss expanding cooperation between the two countries in the spheres of trade, industry, mining and agriculture. The security adviser to the Iranian supreme leader and Iranian media outlets expressed support for the strikes carried out by the Houthi rebels in Yemen on the night of January 17 against the United Arab Emirates. Read more...

Iran condemned the strikes on the Lattakia Port in Syria, carried out on December 28, allegedly by Israel. On January 2, Iranian citizens were allowed to resume pilgrimage trips to Syria. Such visits were halted almost two years ago due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In an interview to the Lebanese news website al-Ahed, the Iranian ambassador to Syria stated that relations between Iran and Syria are currently focused on economic cooperation to a greater extent than before. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, declared that the blood of Qasem Soleimani forced the American forces to withdraw from Afghanistan and Iraq and bolstered the “resistance front” in the region. In late December, the Iraqi minister of foreign affairs arrived for a visit to Tehran during which he met senior Iranian government officials and discussed bilateral ties, developments in the region and the nuclear deal talks in Vienna. Read more...

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...