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Iran's New Government: An Assertive Regional Policy and a Firm Stance toward the West
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael Segall - Iran's Parliament approved the list of ministers presented by President Ibrahim Raisi on August 25, 2021. Some are on the U.S. government's sanctions list, and some are accused of international terrorism, such as Ahmed Vahidi, the interior minister, who is wanted for his role in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community building in Argentina. Iran's leaders believe that a series of "divine events" have accompanied the Islamic Revolution since its inception: Hizbullah and the Palestinians' rounds of confrontations with Israel, the removal of Saddam Hussein, successfully confronting U.S.-imposed crippling sanctions, the disappearance of sworn enemies (Trump, Netanyahu), and the American departure from countries bordering Iran (Iraq, Afghanistan). These prove, in the leaders' view, the justice of their path, and they shape the inner belief and conviction that it is possible to challenge the presence of the West and the "foreign transplant" in the region - Israel - and that Israel can be eliminated through patience, resistance, and coordination with the Muslim countries. The writer, an expert on strategic issues with a focus on Iran, terrorism, and the Middle East, is a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center.