Ahmad Majidyar
MiddleEast Institute
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Ahmad:
Monday Briefing: Iran’s economic challenges reach a crisis point
In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts Ahmad Majidyar, Mirette F. Mabrouk, and Hassan Mneimneh provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the 40th anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution, a proposal for constitutional amendments in Egypt, and Iraqi PM Abdul-Mahdi's first 100 days in office. → Read More
Monday Briefing | Iraq: Stuck in the middle again
In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts Randa Slim, Paul Salem, Ahmad Majidyar, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including President Trump's comment about keeping U.S. troops in Iraq "to be able to watch Iran," Pope Francis's trip to the UAE, the EU's maneuvers to defy U.S. sanctions on Iran, and intra-Afghan talks in Moscow. Iraq: Stuck in the middle… → Read More
Monday Briefing: US-Taliban talks progress, but major obstacles remain
In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts Ahmad Majidyar, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Randa Slim, Paul Salem, and Guney Yildiz provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including U.S. negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan, a warning sent to Israel by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Sudanese president's appeal for external support, Turkish-Syrian diplomacy, and Pakistan's acceptance… → Read More
Key Afghan police chief killed in Kandahar attack
The assassinations are likely to undermine voter turnout in Afghanistan's south and deepen divisions within the Afghan government about the prospect of peace with the Taliban. → Read More
Has dealing with Mohammed bin Salman become too toxic?
In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts discuss recent and upcoming events including Washington's response to the Saudi problem, the fading threat of a military campaign in Idlib, a potential U.S.-Turkey rapprochement, and a new round of talks between Washington and the Taliban. → Read More
Delegation of 180 Iranian companies visit Syria for business deals
Delegation of 180 Iranian companies visit Syria for business deals → Read More
Will US sanctions bring Iran back to the negotiating table?
In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts Ahmad Majidyar, Gerald Feierstein, and Charles Lister provide analysis on the first batch of U.S. sanctions on Iran, leaked emails that may undermine the Trump administration's Mideast peace plan, and the assassination of a Syrian military scientist. → Read More
Iran and Afghanistan at loggerheads over water
Tension between Iran and neighboring Afghanistan over water rights has reached new heights as declining rainfall, prolonged droughts, and mismanagement of water resources have severely affected agricultural production, food security and availability of drinking water in both countries. Tehran has warned of retaliatory actions if Kabul does not allow sufficient water into Iran’s water-stressed… → Read More
Iranian Embassy in Algeria accused of promoting sectarianism in North Africa
Former and current Algerian officials accuse the Iranian Embassy in Algiers of promoting sectarianism in Algeria and the broader region, → Read More
IRGC steps up crackdown on environmentalists amid anti-government protests
While Iran’s environmental challenges have reached crisis level, the country’s judicial and security authorities have stepped up crackdown on the very experts and activists who are leading efforts to address the country’s growing water scarcity and environmental problems, adversely affecting tens of millions of Iranians on a daily basis. In recent months, intelligence operatives of the Islamic… → Read More
Reports on Russia-Israel cooperation over Syria worries Iran
Israeli media reports that Moscow and Tel Aviv have reached an agreement on the withdrawal of Iranian-led forces from southern Syria have caused a stir in Iran. “Has Russia taken Israel’s side?” wrote Ensaf News. → Read More
Tajikistan's top clerical body says Iran is fueling extremism in Central Asian country
The Council of Ulemmas of Tajikistan, an association of the country’s religious leaders, today accused Tehran of attempts to destabilize the Central Asian country. → Read More
Muqtada al-Sadr’s victory in Iraqi elections raises alarm in Tehran
Firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s surprising lead in Iraq’s May 12 parliamentary elections has raised alarm in Tehran. The Iranian press expressed the concern that Sadr would seek to undercut the Islamic Republic’s influence in Iraq by marginalizing Iran’s allies and allowing regional Sunni countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, to make inroads into Iraqi politics and economy at the… → Read More
Afghans blame Iran and Pakistan for Taliban’s rapid gains in Farah Province
With Afghanistan’s western Farah Province on the verge of falling to the Taliban, Afghan officials and tribal leaders in the province accuse neighboring Iran and Pakistan of aiding the insurgents for political and economic ends. → Read More
Rouhani rejects JCPOA renegotiation, hints Tehran may remain in deal without US
In contrast to bellicose statements from Tehran in recent days, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today that Tehran would remain in the 2015 nuclear accord, even if the Trump administration abandoned it. But he said Tehran would stick to the deal only if other signatories of the deal assure Tehran that the Islamic Republic will continue to benefit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. → Read More
Iran-backed Fateh Alliance seeks to win or play kingmaker in upcoming Iraqi elections
With Iraq’s May 12 parliamentary elections nearing, the coalition of Iranian-supported militia groups called Fateh Alliance is confident that it can translate its military gains into a political victory by either winning the premiership or playing kingmaker in the post-election government formation process, according to Tasnim News Agency, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. → Read More
Conflicting reports on suspected Israeli strikes targeting Iranian-backed Afghan militia in Syria
The commander of the Fatemiyoun Division, an all-Afghan militia unit fighting under the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ leadership in Syria, has rejected media reports that missiles hit its military base near Syria’s northwest over the weekend. “The military base of this Division is near the city of Aleppo. No combatants from this force have been martyred by an attack as reported in the media,”… → Read More
Top Iranian official says retaliation against Israel is “inevitable”
The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said today that the Islamic Republic is determined to punish Israel for the latest strikes on a Syrian air base in which several Iranian military personnel were killed. → Read More
Rouhani and Erdogan discuss Syria after tension over US-led strikes
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed to continue cooperation in Syria despite the two countries’ differences over the latest US-led strikes against Syrian government military sites, → Read More
Iran-backed Iraqi militia reportedly laid siege to US base in response to Syria strikes
Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary forces have laid siege to an American air base northwest of Baghdad to pressure the US military not to use Iraqi airspace for any attacks against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, Iranian and Lebanese media outlets reported. → Read More