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The Mecca Mirage and Tehran’s Dead-End Diplomacy

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  by: Struan Stevenson There is something faintly absurd about three countries forming a military alliance to defend themselves against aggression, then rushing to the capital of the country they suspect of encouraging that aggression, pleading for peace. Yet this was the spectacle in Tehran on 26 October, when senior representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan arrived for talks with the Iranian regime. Tehran hailed the meeting as a success. Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, spoke enthusiastically about a positive new atmosphere. The four countries agreed to continue talking. That was about it. No binding agreement to halt Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. No enforceable guarantees. No evidence of any miraculous conversion to peaceful coexistence. The mullahs must have been delighted. During my 15 years in the European Parliament, including five years as president of its Delegation for Relations with Iraq, I became thoroughly familiar with Tehran’s methods of extending...
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The Concept and Implications of Replacing Ghalibaf with Mohsen Rezaei in Managing the Iranian Regime’s Negotiations with the US

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  The Concept and Implications of Replacing Ghalibaf with Mohsen Rezaei in Managing the Iranian Regime’s Negotiations with the US: A Surgical Restructuring at the Apex of the Velayat-e Faqih System by Mojtaba Khamenei By: Reza Hoseani Abstract This article analyzes one of the most significant recent developments in the power hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Iran: the gradual marginalization of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf from the negotiations portfolio with the United States and the consolidation of authority in the hands of Mohsen Rezaei as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). Drawing on news reports, official statements, and analysis of recent events, the article argues that this reshuffling is not a mere technical adjustment but rather part of a broader project of power consolidation and homogenization at the apex of the regime led by Mojtaba Khamenei. 1. Dissecting a Power Shift: From Speculation to Ground Reality 1.1. A Change in Washington’s Point of Co...
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Why Is Mojtaba Khamenei Stepping Out of the Shadows?

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  Why Is Mojtaba Khamenei Stepping Out of the Shadows? Anatomy of a Rushed Succession in the Shadow of War and Uprising By: Reza Hoseani Abstract During the first week of Aban 1404 (October 21-28, 2025), a series of official and semi-official reports emerged concerning meetings and messages involving Mojtaba Khamenei — including meetings with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, a message to academic and athletic elites, and responses to letters from university students. This unprecedented flurry comes as the Islamic Republic faces a triple crisis: the imminent threat of external war, a deep domestic legitimacy crisis, and an unprecedented rift at the very top of the regime. By examining the sequence of these developments, this article argues that Mojtaba’s increased visibility is not a sign of consolidated power. Rather, it is a defensive maneuver driven by fear of losing control and an attempt to avoid being erased from the post-Khamenei equation. Introduction...
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From Ahmad Chalabi to Reza Pahlavi: The politics of manufactured opposition

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  By Ivan Sascha Sheehan , Majid Rafizadeh washingtonexaminer Published October 30, 2026 9:00am ET In May 2004, 14 months after the invasion of Iraq , it was clear that weapons of mass destruction could no longer be cited as justification for it. An intelligence source told the Guardian , “It’s pretty clear that the Iranians had us for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” They were referring to Iraqi fraudster Ahmad Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress, which he headed. In the months before the invasion, Chalabi’s operation fed Washington repeated claims about Saddam Hussein’s purported WMD program. The claims seemed to arrive through separate channels, independently corroborating one another. In reality, they all had one source. If Iranian intelligence was involved, Tehran had helped remove its greatest regional enemy without ever needing to persuade an American to serve the clerical regime’s interests. Twenty-some years later, a similar question faces Western capitals, this time ab...
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Iran: Several Members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization (PMOI/MEK) Arrested During Attack on Judiciary Headquarters in Tehran

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  The leadership of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) inside the country announced that several members of the organization were arrested on the evening of Friday, October 16, 2026, during clashes with security personnel from the judiciary and police patrols, while an attack was underway targeting the central headquarters of the Iranian regime’s judiciary in Tehran. According to the statement, the clashes took place at around 9 p.m. local time on Abdollahzadeh Street, off Keshavarz Boulevard, near the judiciary’s central headquarters. Resistance Units Mobilized Following Reports That Mohseni Ejei Was Heading to the Headquarters The PMOI leadership inside Iran explained that, several hours before the operation, information had been received indicating that Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, head of the Iranian regime’s judiciary, was on his way to Keshavarz Boulevard to proceed to the central headquarters. The statement added that, immediately upon receiving this info...
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