Iran’s policy of “Look to the East” to strengthen relations and counterbalance the West is a familiar phenomenon.
Essebsi’s death will not change much in Tunisia’s foreign policy, at least in the next two months. This means that in the short run, Iran-Tunisia relations are likely to remain cordial, without necessarily becoming formal.
As tensions between the Trump administration and the Islamic Republic of Iran remain high there is legitimate concern regarding the Levant’s security.
Since the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the Trump administration has indicated that they are not seeking regime change in Iran, rather a more appropriate nuclear deal.
Iran’s air defence missile systems shooting down a high-tech US military drone south of the Gulf on Thursday, June 20 is the latest example of increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran over the past year.
With U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal signed between Iran and the P5+1 countries in May 2018, Iran’s nuclear activities have moved to the top of the international agenda again.
The active presence of those who prefer the option of armed conflict both in the US and Iran seems to present a new and grievous challenge for the entire region.
Reaching to a multilateral, regional or bilateral mechanism to address terrorism and conflicts has to be the only mechanism to be used against cross-border counter-terrorism efforts.
The assumption that Trump will never risk a war seems to be the main detriment of Iran’s counter strategy. But, this is a great gamble.
From Ankara’s perspective, Iranian cooperation in operations against the PKK is key and Turkey’s determination to work with Tehran to strangle the Kurdish group is on display.
Zarif’s resignation showed that there is a complex balance between Iran’s conservatives and the reformist-moderate camp and a government crisis is what Iran needs the least.
Evidently, both Assad and Iran’s Supreme Leader sought to exploit Assad’s visit to convey an indubitable message, which is “the success of the axis of resistance” in Syria.