US Policy on Iran: Examining the Opportunities to Build a New Bipartisan Strategy mei.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mei.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Alex Vatanka is the founding Director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute. He specializes in Middle Eastern regional security affairs with a particular focus on Iran. He was formerly a Senior Analyst at Jane’s Information Group in London. Alex is also a Senior Fellow in Middle East Studies at the US Air Force Special Operations School (USAFSOS) at Hurlburt Field and teaches as an Adjunct Professor at DISAS at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
During Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s visit to Moscow in late March, Tehran and Moscow once again reiterated their determination to unveil a new 20-year “strategic cooperation agreement” in the near future. Iran and Russia had signed such an agreement back in 2001, which expired in 2021. The next 20-year agreement will very likely center not just around deeper economic cooperation but also military ties, as evident from the growing Iran-Russia relationship in this area.
The Chinese-brokered diplomatic agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia could have potentially profound implications not only for the future of the Middle East but also for the relative strength of the United States' continued influence in this part of the world.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is once again embroiled in angry protests. All over the country, tens of thousands have been coming together to decry the killing of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian Morality Police as well as the state’s systemic repression of women. With the Iranian Revolutionary Guard employed domestically, against Iranian citizens, for the first time, the world is watching Tehran and its brutal response closely. After two weeks of protests, where do we stand?