At a September summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security-focused grouping of Russia, China, and several Central and South Asian states, Iran’s application for a promotion from observer status to full membership of the grouping was approved| The Soufan Center
Iran, not unlike the United States, is engaging the newly triumphant Taliban leaders of Afghanistan while staying focused on a troubled history with the hardline Sunni Islamist group. During its 1996-2001 rule, the Taliban repressed pro-Iranian minorities such as the Shiite Hazaras of central Afghanistan and the Persian-speaking Tajiks dominant in the north and west. In 1998| The Soufan Center
In late October, according to the United States Defense Department, a “complex, coordinated, and deliberate attack” was conducted against a U.S. base at Al Tanf in eastern Syria| The Soufan Center
In late October, Iran’s new government formally agreed to return to talks on a restoration of the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear deal. The new round that will begin on November 29 follows several months of uncertainty about whether the talks would continue| The Soufan Center
Iran’s role in the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, a close ally of Tehran, continues to be contested, but there is no dispute that Iran set the stage for the Hamas attack by arming, training, and advising the group over several decades.| The Soufan Center
The unexpected May 19 death of Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi in the crash of the helicopter returning him and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian from an official visit to neighboring Azerbaijan will not produce any short-term changes in Iranian domestic or regional policies.| The Soufan Center
