Iran’s new Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been moving quickly to cement Iran’s role in the region. His diplomatic offensive is taking shape even as Iran continues to threaten Israel with military force. This is important to recognize because it represents a multi-pronged Iranian offensive, on several levels.
Araghchi is already holding a series of meetings, even as he is just getting his feet wet in his new role. He brings with him a wealth of experience, so this is not exactly new territory for him. According to Iranian state media, Araghchi spoke this week with his Kuwaiti counterpart Abdullah Al-Yahya.
“In this conversation, Kuwaiti foreign minister pointed out the will of his country to continue the process of development and expansion of relations between Tehran and Kuwait, and emphasized the importance of continuing political dialogues between the two countries,” Iran’s IRNA state media said.
He also reached out to Oman and spoke with his Omani counterpart Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi. “In this conversation, Al Busaidi pointed out the Sultan of Oman’s special attention to the relations between the two countries and its increasing development process, and emphasized his readiness to work closely with his Iranian counterpart to follow up and implement the agreements of the heads of the two countries,” IRNA noted.
Iran strengthening relations with key countries
At the same time, Iran’s president and Iranian envoys are working to improve relations with key countries. For instance, the Iranian and Turkish ambassadors to Iraq met and shared their views on the region. Both countries condemned Israel and discussed Gaza; this is interesting because Iraq doesn’t border Israel. Iran backs militias in Iraq that have been attacking Israel while Turkey operates in northern Iraq.
According to IRNA, Mohammad-Kazem Ale-Sadegh met with Anil Bora Inan, Turkey’s new ambassador to Baghdad. Both Iran and Turkey have close ties to each other, as well as with Russia. Iranian ambassador to Turkey Mohammad Hassan Habibzadeh met the country’s Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz this week, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also met in Tehran.
Qatar is a key partner of Iran. “During a meeting in Tehran on Monday, the two sides discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues,” IRNA noted. Iran’s president slammed Israel in the meeting.
The Iranian diplomatic offensive includes more outreach to Egypt as well. Overall, Iran’s goal is to create a ring of fire around Israel, isolating it diplomatically while using proxies to attack us. The meetings held this week contribute to their agenda.