A senior member of the Iranian Majlis stated Iran’s willingness to construct over 500,000 housing units in Syria per year. The senior official reported that during the visit of the Iranian minister of transportation to Damascus in mid-January, officials discussed how Iranian private firms can participate in Syria’s post-war reconstruction.

The Commander of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Esmail Qa’ani, paid yet another visit to Iraq in late January. This is Qa’ani’s second visit to Iran over the past two weeks. He conducted his visit in light of the ongoing government formation negotiations in Iraq. These negotiations are raising growing concern in Iran due to the possibility that the next government will not include some pro-Iranian forces, as the leader of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, is striving to divide the Shia camp facing off against him. Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the rocket attack on the International Airport of Baghdad on the night of January 28.

Tehran’s decision to again restrict the flow of gas to Iraq due to the debts Iraq accrued to Iran has raised widespread anger in Iraq. A social media campaign launched in Iraq called for boycotting Iranian consumer products in retaliation to the reduction in the flow of gas, which resulted in lengthier electricity outages across the country.

Iran granted a permission for transferring diesel to Afghanistan through its territory for a period of three months. The permission was granted to enable the Afghan population to procure heating fuel during the winter season, and as part of the Iranian humanitarian effort in Afghanistan following the takeover of the country by the Taliban.

Iranian Involvement in Syria

On January 24, the Iranian Ambassador to Syria, Mehdi Sobhani, met with the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faisal Mekdad, and discussed bilateral relations and developments in Syria and the region. The Syrian foreign minister thanked the ambassador for Iran’s support to Syria in the war “against the terrorists and their international backers,” and remarked that political will is enabling the expansion of economic ties between the two countries. The Iranian ambassador stressed Iran’s desire to implement the agreements it had signed with Syria and expressed hope for expanding ties between the two countries (IRNA, January 24).

The meeting between the Iranian ambassador and Syrian minister of foreign affairs. Source: IRNA, January 24

The meeting between the Iranian ambassador and Syrian minister of foreign affairs. Source: IRNA, January 24

The Chairman of the Majlis’ Civilian Committee, Mohammad Reza Rezai Kuchi, declared that Iran is willing to construct over 500,000 housing units in Syria annually, and that Syria expressed willingness to cooperate with the Iranian private sector in this endeavor. In an interview to the ILNA news agency (January 29), the Iranian parliament member, who was a member of the delegation that accompanied the Iranian minister of transportation in his visit to Syria in mid-January, reported that during the visit, the two sides discussed how Iran can take part in Syria’s reconstruction, and that these talks would provide opportunities for Iranian private companies to participate in the reconstruction process. He clarified that the talks did not revolve around Iranian financial investments in Syria’s reconstruction, but merely generating opportunities for private Iranian firms to participate in construction projects and export technical and engineering services, as well as construction materials. Rezai Kuchi mentioned that Turkey and other countries are already involved in reconstruction projects in Syria, and that Iran ought to expand its involvement in the process.

Iranian Involvement in Iraq

The Saudi al-Hadath network reported (January 25) that the Commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force, Esmail Qa’ani, arrived for another visit in Iraq in light of the ongoing government formation negotiations. On January 30, the network reported that Qa’ani arrived for a visit in Erbil in northern Iraq to meet with senior Kurdish officials. This is Qa’ani’s second visit to Iraq in the span of two weeks. In mid-January Qa’ani arrived for a visit to Iraq, during which he met with the heads of Iraq’s Shia parliamentary blocs.

The visit of Esmail Qa’ani to Samara City. Source: Twitter account affiliated with Qa’ani, January 29

The visit of Esmail Qa’ani to Samara City. Source:

Twitter account affiliated with Qa’ani, January 29

The website Iranian Diplomacy voiced concerns about the intentions of the leader of the Sadrist Current, Muqtada al-Sadr, to split the bloc of Shia parties in the Iraqi parliament. A commentary published on the website (January 20) against the backdrop of the visit of the Commander of the Qods Force, Esmail Qa’ani, to Iraq in mid-January 2022 and his meeting with al-Sadr, argued that Iran is interested in preserving, at all costs, the political viability of the forces loyal to it, which operate under the Shia Coordination Framework. Iran is taking into account that al-Sadr will act to undermine this Framework after the formation of a new government in Baghdad, but at the current stage, it prefers to preserve its forces within the parliament and government to advance its interest, rather than taking an approach focused or preserving its influence outside of official institutions. Al-Sadr, the commentary argued, is striving to split the Shia bloc that was formed to counter-weigh him, to ensure complete political domination. The author further argues that al-Sadr’s goals ought to be kept in mind when analyzing the purpose of the meeting al-Sadr held with Hadi al-Ameri, the Chairman of the Fath Coalition, which is affiliated with the pro-Iranian Shia militias. Sadr may even promise him a number of ministerial positions to create a fissure within the Shia Coordination Framework.

The Spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saeed Khatibzadeh, condemned the rocket attack on the Baghdad International Airport, carried out on the night of January 28. The strike damaged a civilian airline but did not result in casualties. The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs argued that these actions are intended to undermine Iraq’s stability. He added that Iran supports the efforts of the Iraqi government to preserve stability and security in the country (Tasnim, January 29).

On January 23, the heads of the Iranian Red Crescent and the Iraqi Red Crescent signed a cooperation agreement between the two organizations for a period of ten years. As part of the agreement, the Iranian Red Crescent Association promised to assist the Iraqi Association with trainings in the fields of crisis management, establishing health camps, water and sanitation, medical care, and logistics. Additionally, the two sides agreed that if needs arise, teams of experts from the Iranian Red Crescent will be sent to Iraq to provide medical services, and administer clinics for pilgrims visiting Shia holy sites in Iraq. The Iranian Red Crescent also vowed to assist their Iraqi colleagues in manufacturing and exporting medical equipment and to provide them with vaccinations (IRNA, January 23).

The heads of the Iraqi and Iranian Red Crescent chapters sign the cooperation agreement. Source: IRNA, January 23

The heads of the Iraqi and Iranian Red Crescent chapters sign the cooperation agreement. Source: IRNA, January 23

During his visit to Baghdad, the Chairman of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, met with the Iraqi Minister of Health, Hani al-Iqabi, who called for expanding cooperation in the medical field between the two countries. The chairman of the Iranian Red Crescent expressed willingness to provide Iraq with medical technologies and not merely medicine, and to establishing jointly run factories in Iraq for manufacturing medicine (Alef, January 25).

The al-Arabiya network reported (January 24) about the launch of a campaign on social media by Iraqis, which calls for boycotting Iranian consumer products in response to Iran’s decision to reduce the flow of gas to Iraq. The Iranian decision, which stems from shortages of gas in Iran due to the harsh winter storm, and Iraq’s major debt to Iran, resulted in longer electricity outages across the country. In response to the Iranian step, Iraqis took to social media to publish photos of Iranian consumer products with the hashtag #Let_Them_Spoil.

The campaign to boycott Iranian products. Source: Instagram, January 24

The campaign to boycott Iranian products. Source: Instagram, January 24

Iranian Involvement in the Palestinian Arena

The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein-Amir Abdollahian, conducted a brief meeting with the incoming Palestinian Ambassador to Tehran, Salam al-Zawawi. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Women’s Day ceremony held in Tehran (ISNA, January 24). In early January 2022, al-Zawawi replaced her father Salah al-Zawawi, who served as the Palestinian ambassador to Tehran since 1981.

שThe meeting between the Palestinian ambassador to Tehran with the Iranian minister of foreign affairs. Source: ISNA, January 24

The meeting between the Palestinian ambassador to Tehran with the Iranian minister of foreign affairs. Source: ISNA, January 24

Iranian Involvement in Afghanistan

The Envoy of the Iranian President for Afghan Affairs, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, announced that Iran granted permission for the transfer of diesel to Afghanistan through its territory for the next three months. In an update on his Twitter account (January 22), Kazemi-Qomi mentioned that the permission was granted to ensure that the Afghan population can procure heating fuel during the winter season, following the request of Afghan authorities. On January 25, the Taliban’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Nooruddin Azizi, met with the Iranian Ambassador to Kabul, Hassan Mortazavi, and thanked him for Iran’s decision to permit the transfer of diesel to Afghanistan. Azizi called for expanding cooperation between the two countries in the energy and trade sectors and the two officials discussed ways to facilitate trade between the two countries (SNN.IR news agency, January 25).

The meeting between the Iranian ambassador to Kabul with the Taliban’s minister of trade. Source: SNN.IR, January 25

The meeting between the Iranian ambassador to Kabul with the Taliban’s minister of trade. Source: SNN.IR, January 25