Iran
Saudi Arabia’s change of tack on Iraq
For too long, the Saudis have complained about the 'loss' of Iraq to Iranian influence without acknowledging that their almost complete refusal to establish ties with Baghdad…
Iranian politics nothing if not opaque
It is often difficult to make sense of Iranian electoral results.
On the one hand, presidential elections feature such a narrow range of choice (the 1600-plus would-be candidates…
Iranians vote to continue on the path of engagement
Some 40 million Iranians took to the polls on Friday to vote for the next President of the Islamic Republic, which represented an impressive 70% turnout rate. Commentators had…
Iran's growing security problem
As Iran heads into an election on Friday with the focus on the economy, it is easy to miss the rise in temperature in Iran’s regional security environment. In late April, nine…
Chabahar: The key to a strategic partnership between India and Iran?
Since Iran reached an agreement with India back in 2003 to develop a deep-water port and free-trade zone in Chabahar, on the Makran coast in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province,…
Tense times for the Iran nuclear deal
This week US President Donald Trump is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On the agenda will be Iran and, more specifically, the nuclear deal reached between…
Women and Iran’s elections: 'This is not the atmosphere for change'
In May this year Iranians will go to the polls twice: first to vote for their next president, and then for nearly 120,000 council members in the municipal election. Women, like…
Iran and Russia: Not an easy relationship
Iran’s relationship with Russia has been characterised as many things, ranging from a ‘marriage of convenience’ to a ‘long-lasting alliance’. In reality it's a pragmatic…
How Iran became the first beneficiary of Russia's Syria Intervention
The first tactical victory emerging from Russia’s intervention in Syria came not on the al-Ghab plain in Syria’s Hama province or around Syria’s divided…