Seyed Abbas Araghchi

February 27, 2025 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Lebanon May Be Ready for Peace With Israel. Both Sides Need to Prepare

With Hezbollah sidelined, both Israelis and Lebanese must start thinking beyond security and cease-fire arrangements and start saying the word peace, louder and louder. The more the P word is uttered, the more normal it becomes

February 25, 2025 | Janatan Sayeh |

Is Iran poising itself for escalation with Israel?

Tehran seized on the funeral of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah as a stage to reaffirm its steadfast commitment to revitalizing its Lebanese proxy and potentially escalating its attacks...

February 23, 2025 | |

‘Death to Israel, Death to America’: Hezbollah Flexes at Massive Nasrallah Funeral Buzzed by Israeli Jets

IAF Warplanes Buzz Funeral, Strike Lebanese Targets: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on February 23  that the Israeli Air Force flew low passes in the skies over the...

February 19, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Head of Iraq’s powerful pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization Units visits Tehran

On February 18, Falih al Fayyadh, the chairman of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), visited Tehran and met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to a report in Iranian state media.

February 17, 2025 | Janatan Sayeh |

From Afghanistan to America: the rising reach of the Islamic State Khorasan Province

Four years after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the threat posed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has expanded beyond the region, now endangering both American and European soil.

January 31, 2025 | |

Iranian Foreign Minister Meets With Hamas and Qatari Leaders as Support for Proxies Persists  

Iran Pledges Continued Support for Hamas: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with officials of the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas in Doha on January 30, as well as Qatari...

January 30, 2025 | Janatan Sayeh |

Trump’s Return Pushes Iran Into a Defensive Posture

Increasingly fearful of their loosening grip on power, the Islamic Republic’s rulers are recalibrating their foreign policy, at least temporarily, to gauge the impact of Donald Trump’s return to the...

January 28, 2025 | |

‘Several Serious Blows’: Iranian FM Admits ‘Damage’ to Proxies

Hamas and Hezbollah ‘Are Rebuilding’: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi conceded that Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — two of Tehran’s regional proxies —...

January 16, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Alawite Fears Ignite Syria’s Coastal Chaos

Violence is spreading in Syria’s Mediterranean coastal region, home to the country’s largest concentration of Alawites, the religious minority whose members include the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad....

January 16, 2025 | |

‘Not Under Pressure or Sanctions’: Tehran and Key European Powers Discuss Resuming Nuclear Talks

Iran and E3 Hold Talks: Diplomats from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — known as the E3 — met with Iranian officials in Geneva on January 14 to discuss the possibility...

January 15, 2025 | Sinan Ciddi, Sophia Epley

Turkey and HTS: A New Era of Extremism in Syria?

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2023, Syria is now controlled by an alliance of opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). While there has...

January 7, 2025 | Janatan Sayeh |

Tehran’s triad: propaganda, proxies, and preparedness

The regime in Tehran finds itself increasingly besieged by challenges, ranging from the faltering influence of its regional proxies to the prospect of an Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities, potentially...

December 13, 2024 | Janatan Sayeh |

Iran never gave up on Assad; it simply failed to protect him

The sudden collapse of the Islamic Republic’s closest state-actor ally stunned the world, as Syrian rebels captured Damascus just 11 days after launching a new wave of insurgency. To deflect this humiliating...

December 7, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Could the unrest in Syria spillover into Iraq? Iran seems to think so

Iran believes that Iraq is in danger - this means that Iran is worried militias it backs in Iraq could lose influence.

December 2, 2024 | Janatan Sayeh |

Tehran on the back foot: Proxy struggles and Assad’s dilemma

Just a year ago, the Islamic Republic was on the offensive as it used its proxies to launch coordinated attacks on Israel from six fronts to demonstrate the extent of its regional influence. Now, the momentum...

December 1, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Iran scrambles to blame US, Israel for Syria’s troubles

"The recent terrorist activities in Syria are part of a plot by the Israeli regime and the US to undermine regional security,” IRNA claimed.

November 27, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Why is Iran’s FM talking about ‘advanced centrifuges’?

Iran views the nuclear program as more than the sum of its parts.

November 19, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Iran and Syria bolster alliance amid regional tensions and global shifts

Iranian state media initially did not provide many details of the meeting, except that they discussed “various issues.”

November 18, 2024 | |

EU, UK Impose New Sanctions on Iran Over Military Support for Russia, Regional Proxies

Restrictions Expanded Against Iranian Entities: The European Union and the United Kingdom announced on November 18 that new sanctions were being imposed on Iranian entities due to...

November 14, 2024 | |

Europeans Urge UN Nuclear Agency to Adopt Resolution Pressuring Iran Over Non-Compliance

Europeans Urge Nuclear Watchdog Resolution on Iran: European members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are calling for a new resolution against Iran for its lack...