The International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah) issued the Iran Case File (ICF) for May 2022. The file provides readers in general and researchers in particular with an in-depth analysis and overview of Iran’s variant interactions and affairs. The file is divided into three main parts: Internal Affairs, Arab Affairs, and international Affairs.
Internal Affairs is divided into four main files. The Ideological File discusses the clerics’ defense of the Raisi government and their attempts to win popular sympathy for the president and the supreme leader using populist rhetoric. The Political File reviews the latest protests over soaring prices and the government’s elimination of basic commodity subsides; how the government’s corruption and negligence caused a building to collapse in Abadan; and the protests of teachers and pensioners. The Economic File analyzes two significant topics: food security parameters and the reality in Iran; agriculture and the current and future food security challenges. The Military File delves into the implications of Iran establishing a new drone factory in Tajikistan and the ongoing security vulnerabilities that have become evident following the assassination of a top IRGC officer.
Arab Affairs is divided into four main files. The first file discuses Iran’s interactions with the Gulf states, highlighting the visit of the Iranian president to Oman and the developments in the Saudi-Iran dialogue. The second file details recent Yemen-Iran interactions, reviewing the latest developments of the truce amid hopes for peace and the Houthis’ violations. Further, it sheds light on the GCC’s condemnation of Iran’s destabilizing behavior in Yemen. The third file explores Iran-Iraq relations regarding four major issues: Iran’s position amid the political deadlock in Iraq; the continuous Iran-Turkey dispute over influence in northern Iraq; Iran’s creation of crises with neighbors; the political dimensions of the Shiites’ calls to reconstruct the graves in Al-Baqi’ cemetery. The fourth file examines Iran-Syria interactions, analyzing four major developments: the visit of the Syrian president to Tehran; the continuous escalation in northern Syria; Jordan’s hints regarding military escalation on the southern Syrian border; and the implications of the Ukraine crisis on Israel-Russia relations in Syria.
International Affairs discusses Iran’s interactions with the United States and Europe. As for Iran-US relations, three main developments are explored: the stalemate in the Vienna talks, diplomatic alternatives, mutual leverage, and regional and international effects. As for Iran’s relations with the Europeans, the most prominent developments discussed are: the Iran-Greece maritime row which heightens the risk of instability; the complexities plaguing the nuclear file amid the impasse in the Vienna talks.
