Khamanei

Making sense of Iran’s ambitions in post-Soviet states

Although Iran's expansionist aspirations are primarily aimed at the Middle East, the states of the South Caucasus and Central Asia remain in Tehran’s sights.

Iran’s water protests reveal an impending environmental crisis

Mismanagement of natural resources and poor policymaking and implementation has led to the water shortages — and confrontations — of today.

Iraq’s stability depends on Iran and the US re-entering the nuclear deal

Reviving the nuclear deal would give Iran less of an incentive to target US positions in Iraq and support Baghdad’s sovereignty.

Western strikes on Syria are nothing more than theatrics

Striking the Syrian regime for the chemical attack in Douma has come too little, too late, and is not likely to deter the Assad regime or Russia. Worse still, a Trump-Bolton White House inspires little confidence in any large scale US intervention.

Iran protests: A call for regime change, international meddling or neither?

Although economic and political conditions in the country provide plausible reasons for protests, they remain on a small scale, making them incomparable to the massive protests in 2009.