How successful is Iran’s foreign policy?

In the most recent episode of The Roundtable, our intelligence analysts look to understand Iranian foreign policy, and what the driving factors behind some of their key decisions might be to ultimately assess whether or not their external policies have been effective in the last few years.

Senior Regional Analyst for Europe, and our resident Ukraine expert, Matthew Pratten, explores Iran’s alliance with Russia – in particular, the supply of drones and substantial weaponry to Russian forces that has led to Iran being involved in the ongoing conflict. Matt considers what Iran’s strategy could be, and what they hope to get in return for the move.

The team also looks at arms deals with other countries too, such as Tajikistan, as a way that Iran is attempting to extend their influence through weapons sales in addition to the country’s long-standing links to state groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Also at the podcast table, Regional Analyst Peter Wood, provides key insight into Iran’s ongoing influence in Iraqi politics, their motivations, and addresses some of the other tactics the Iranian government could use to continue their power projection in neighboring countries.

This leads to a conversation about whether Iran’s foreign policy has helped or hindered their security at home. Driven by our Intelligence Manager, Max Taylor, the team discusses how secure Iran’s borders are, with a focus on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Azerbaijan and the current levels of hostility and the potential for escalation with each bordering country.

Finally, to round up the podcast episode, we consider the widely-reported civil unrest, heightened ethnic tensions, and growing division across Iran.

Listen to the full episode of The Roundtable now.

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