Iran, Azerbaijan Tensions Heighten Risks of Military Conflict
“If there is no middle ground solution and Baku tries to establish that corridor with the use of force, Iran will not be as passive as it was in 2020,” fellow Mohammad Tabaar told Middle East Eye of the recent rising tensions between Baku and Yerevan. “This time it will act.”
The Folly of Iran’s Hard-Liners
The demonstrations sparked by the killing of Mahsa Amini signal a tipping point in Iran, where many feel they have exhausted all electoral — and possibly nonviolent — ways of pursuing change, writes Middle East fellow Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar.
Why Iran's Hard–line Governments Endure
Electoral Disenchantment in Iran
Iran's Russian Turn
The BBC and other news outlets report that Russia is using Iranian air bases to launch air strikes against Syria. “Historians and American officials said that the Iranian decision to let Russia base its planes and support operations in Iran — even temporarily — was a historic one,” wrote the New York Times.
Middle East fellow Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar anticipated the alliance last year, noting in an article for Foreign Affairs that Iran's internal balance of power was shifting to the country's hardline conservatives who see Vladimir Putin as a reliable partner.
Click here for Tabaar's Nov. 2015 analysis and learn what’s behind the new level of cooperation between Iran and Russia.