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In Brief: Iran announces presidential candidates list

Posted 27 May, 2021 in Analysis, Iran, Israel, Middle East
Ayatollah Khamenei. Image Credit: Tasnim News, CC BY 4.0. Iranian state television announced on Tuesday that 7 candidates had received approval from the country’s constitutional watchdog ahead of next month’s presidential election. The 7 were selected from more than 590 candidates registered by the Guardian Council, a panel of clerics and jurists overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah…

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In Brief: Former top agent named as next chief of the Mossad

Posted 27 May, 2021 in Analysis, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, Israeli Politics
President Rivlin at the Mossad. Image Credit: President of Israel's Office, CC BY-SA 3.0. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that David Barnea would be the next director of Israel’s Mossad espionage agency. Mr Barnea, 56, is a veteran of the organisation, having been its deputy head for the past two years. Barnea will replace incumbent director Yossi Cohen on 1…

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In Brief: Ties between Hamas and Iran strengthen amid conflict

Posted 21 May, 2021 in Analysis, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Middle East, Palestinian Territories
IRGC Parade in Tehran. Image Credit: YPA, CC-BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IGRC) Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the weekend. They discussed the latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Iran is thought to be watching developments closely, and is likely advising Hamas on its…

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In Brief: Revolutionary Guards tighten grip as Iran looks to elections

Posted 12 May, 2021 in Analysis, Hezbollah, Iran, Middle East
IRGC Parade in Tehran. Image Credit: YPA, CC-BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. A number of potential presidential candidates in Iran have emerged out of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), raising concerns regarding the further militarisation of the country’s politics. Hopefuls have until Saturday to formally register their status as a candidate ahead of the election on…

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In Brief: Iranian foreign minister laments IRGC influence

Posted 29 April, 2021 in Analysis, Hezbollah, Iran, Middle East
IRGC Parade in Tehran. Image Credit: YPA, CC-BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has offered a glimpse into Iran’s internal power struggles in a leaked recording, claiming that the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) dominates governmental decision-making. Zarif claimed that IRGC commander Qassim Suleimani, who was killed by the United States in…

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In Brief: Iran nuclear talks continue as enrichment increases

Posted 20 April, 2021 in Analysis, Iran, Middle East
Negotiations about Iranian Nuclear Program, US State Department, Public domain. Discussions to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal continued this weekend, as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran was enriching uranium to 60 percent fissile purity. The IAEA announced it had “verified that Iran has begun the production of UF6, enriched up to 60%…

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In Brief: US defence secretary visits Israel

Posted 15 April, 2021 in Analysis, Iran, Israel, Israeli Politics, Peace process
Lloyd Austin. U.S. Secretary of Defense, Public domain. US defence secretary Lloyd Austin met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, forming part of a two-day visit to Israel. Austin tweeted that the US is committed to working closely with Israel, particularly on security and “threats posed by Iran”. He did not mention Iran or its nuclear…

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Analysis: Iran nuclear site attack as Vienna talks commence

Posted 15 April, 2021 in Analysis, Iran, Middle East
Negotiations about Iranian Nuclear Program. US State Department, Public domain. Iran last weekend began speeding up its nuclear enrichment programme – just days after talks aimed at reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action began in Vienna. But Tehran’s launch of banned advanced centrifuges at the secret Natanz plant appears to have been disrupted by a…

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In Brief: Hope for Iran nuclear deal in Vienna

Posted 7 April, 2021 in Analysis, Iran, Israel, Middle East
Negotiations about Iranian Nuclear Program, US State Department, Public domain. The Biden administration has agreed to join talks in Vienna aimed at resurrecting the Iran nuclear deal, which the Trump administration left in 2018. The remaining signatories – China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK – now need to find routes both for the US to lift…

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Analysis: Iran and China seal $400bn economic and military pact

Posted 30 March, 2021 in Analysis, Iran, Middle East
Xi Jinping visits Iran. Official website of Ali Khamenei, Supreme leader of Iran, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Iran and China signed a major 25-year economic and military partnership agreement at the weekend which could boost the Islamic republic’s sanctions-wracked economy by $400bn. The move comes as Tehran continues to resist efforts by the Biden…

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