A report by all intelligence agencies in the United States has identified Iran as the “primary state challenger” to Washington’s interests in the Middle East, the London-based Iran International reported on Sunday.
Iran has been identified as the “primary state challenger to US interests in the Middle East because of its sophisticated military capabilities, broad proxy and partner networks, and periodic willingness to use force against US and partner forces,” according to the report.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The report – which included contributions from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – revealed that the death of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani pushed Tehran to increase “partner and proxy engagement… to maintain strategic depth.”
In recent months, the Iran-backed Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on US ally Saudi Arabia and in Yemen.
Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike on Baghdad Airport on January 3, 2020 alongside Iraq’s Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. Their death fueled already rising tensions between the US and Iran.
According to the intelligence report, Soleimani’s death led to a “significant increase in the threat to US interests in Iraq from Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militias seeking to secure a US drawdown.”
However, according to the agencies, Iran “will seek to avoid escalation with the United States while it evaluates the direction of US policy toward Iran and the status of the US presence in the region.”
Indirect nuclear talks between the US and Iran began in Vienna last month – with Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany meeting in one hotel while the US is based in another.
Iran has refused to hold direct meetings with officials from Washington.
US President Joe Biden is planning to return to the nuclear deal after former president Donald Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions against Tehran.
In response, Iran has breached many of the deal’s limits on its nuclear activities.
Read more:
Iran expects US sanctions on oil, banks to be lifted
Toughest issues still unresolved in Iran Nuclear JCPOA talks: Sources
Iran nuclear talks make steady progress and will resume Friday, Russia says
-
Iran expects US sanctions on oil, banks to be lifted
Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator said on Saturday Tehran expects US sanctions on oil, banks and other sectors and on most individuals and institutions ... World News -
Toughest issues still unresolved in Iran Nuclear JCPOA talks: Sources
Nuclear talks between world powers and Iran have not progressed as much as hoped for after three weeks of negotiations and there is still no ... World News -
Iran nuclear talks make steady progress and will resume Friday, Russia says
Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on bringing both sides fully back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal are making steady ... Middle East