Iran

For Iran’s new president, the acceptance into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an important diplomatic achievement as Raisi tries to bolster his image as a statesman and look toward the East for economic and strategic partnerships.

Iran’s Khuzestan province has experienced an unprecedented water shortage; yet climate change alone cannot explain how an area endowed with such exceptional natural resources could fail its people so catastrophically.

The 9/11 attacks reshaped Gulf Arab perceptions of terrorism and Islamism, of each other, and of strategic relations with Tehran and Washington.

As long as Iran’s economy is spiraling downward, its new government will have some incentive to ease tensions abroad.

What factors explain the transformation in Tehran’s strategic thinking and behavior, and what will be the trajectory under the new president?

While Saudi leaders promote nascent rapprochement efforts with Iran on the official level, they are allowing an informal aggressive discourse, underpinning continued assertiveness toward Iran and suspicions about its motives.

With its presidential election over, Iran may now want an agreement, but the biggest issues may remain untouchable.

The low participation and high number of protest votes in Iran’s presidential election demonstrate a lack of trust in the regime and a diminished hope among Iranians for making change through the ballot box.