Carnegie Moscow Center
As current events demonstrate, the security challenges of the Middle East cannot be permanently solved solely through the use of American military power. On Iran and other regional challenges, the only lasting solutions will be diplomatic ones.
Washington should endorse the Russian proposal and invest President Vladimir Putin’s prestige in winning Syria’s assent and full, timely implementation. Such an outcome would be better than military action and better than no action.
A strike against the Syrian government continues to look likely. What is less certain is what kind of strike, with what aims and what sort of strategy, and whether such a strike would put the Syrian conflict onto a truly regional level.
The surprising endurance of the Iran-Syria alliance is made more striking by the fact that it is based on neither shared national interests nor religious values, but is rather a tactical-cum-strategic partnership between two authoritarian regimes.
As the U.S. troop withdrawal approaches, Washington should consider how improving U.S.-Iranian relations can further its long-term goals in Afghanistan and the region.
The United States should be able to address Iran’s focus on getting an understanding of the “endgame” in return for substantial Iranian agreement on the compelling nuclear issues.
The Kremlin appears to have found its distinct international role. It is based on conservative nationalism; support for traditional international law with its emphasis on national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs of states; and a strong preference for evolutionary path of development over revolutionary upheavals.
It was surprising that Rowhani was permitted to win by an unelected conservative establishment who over the last decade have systematically purged moderates and reformists from the corridors of power using force and intimidation.
Hassan Rowhani’s victory in the Iranian presidential election shows a radical conservative agenda does not enjoy widespread support in Iran.
Russia is re-emerging as a power in the Middle East. Yet Moscow’s objectives today are vastly different.