S1/E10: Inter-Agency Reconciliation at Home and Reaching Out to Arab States

Iran's Gambit

Unofficial mouthpieces of the Revolutionary Guard seldom praise Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the contrary, many a foreign minister has fallen victim for machinations of the Guard and its network. Nevertheless, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who previously, in his capacity as nuclear negotiator, was the target of the Guard media, is now subject to panegyric articles in Javan newspaper, the most official among the Guard’s multiple mouthpieces. Javan also appears to be warming to Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia, yet at times, there are glimpses of the iron fist under the velvet glove: Javan not only re-used “reactionary” to describe the ruling houses of Arab states, but also accuses them of encouraging Israel’s behavior in Gaza and Lebanon with their silence, and even verbalized the non-verbal threat of President Masoud Pezeshkian: Iran will respond “proportionately” if the Arab states allow their air space or military bases on their territories to be used in attacks against Iran. Is Javan newspaper chasing Arab states into the arms of Iran's adversaries?