Vatanka Reports
News and Analysis on the Greater Middle East
Azerbaijan and Israel’s encirclement of Iran
October 5, 2021
Tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan are high right now but both sides will very likely soon step down. Neither Tehran nor Baku can afford to let recent events lead to a full-fledged crisis or a military showdown between the two Shi’a Muslim-majority countries.
Beholden to Khamenei and the IRGC, Raisi will stick to the hardline script
September 16, 2021
In the June 2021 elections, the Iranian presidency was handed to Ebrahim Raisi on a silver platter.
Raisi and the Revolutionary Guards
September 2, 2021
Under President Ebrahim Raisi, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is poised to exert greater control over Iran’s national security agenda and economy. Several of his ministers and advisors were members of the IRGC or have connections to it.
Khamenei Wants a Nuclear Deal Before Rouhani Leaves
June 17, 2021
Blame will go to the departing president while praise will go to his handpicked successor.
Khamenei shuts down opposition ahead of upcoming ballot
June 14, 2021
Iran’s presidential elections on 18 June are not set to shift the status quo in the country. The man most responsible for this predicament is the unelected 82-year Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has been in power since 1989
Iran’s Biggest Problem Is Water
May 25, 2021
Iran is parched. Indeed, this year is expected to be among the driest in the last 50 years.
The US-Iran-Qatar triangle
February 17, 2021
The tiny Persian Gulf country of Qatar has chosen a herculean task for itself: to mediate between the United States and Iran. As Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani put it on Feb. 10, Doha “is working on de-escalation through a political and diplomatic process.”
Iran and Turkey: Power dynamics in the South Caucasus
February 8, 2021
Iran was caught off guard by the July 2020 round of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Israel, Iran: Now is the time to test if détente can be reached
February 4, 2021
The last few months have witnessed a dramatic shift in the geopolitical balance of the Middle East.
The Nagorno-Karabakh War: Tehran’s Worst Nightmare
October 14, 2020
The fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan comes at a particularly bad time for Iran.
The Iranian government’s risky stock market bet
September 14, 2020
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) took a different path than the rest of the financial world.
Russia, Iran, and economic integration on the Caspian
August 17, 2020
In recent weeks, reports of a potential 25-year, $400-billion deal between Iran and China have dominated the conversation about Tehran’s options for freeing itself from the punishing U.S.-imposed sanctions regime on the country.