Iran Foreign Policy and Doctrine

[Persian Gulf]

Thats my point, states who have robust counterintelligence capacities who aren't completely penetrated don't have such things happen to them in such a way where things aren't detected, not saying they foil every plot but more often that not they are able to prevent or atleast catch perpetrators.

in the US the most protected and powerful man was shot in the ear (by total luck not killed) and one of the biggest influencers was shot in the neck, within a few months of each other. and these are guys who should be protected, not some random Afghan ex police officer that no one gives a shit about.

Israel is a tiny military base on steroids with strong borders, the comparison does not make sense

Iran faces severe challenges with its size, huge porous borders, sanctions devastating the economy leading to desperate people, and the most powerful enemies in the world hell bent on regime change. nonetheless, no one is denying that Iran's counterintelligence abilities are terrible, and would be bad even without these factors, that is obvious.

 

[shapurzolaktaf]

Bakhtiar was a terrorist?

He was not, but why did he approach saddam while we had a war of survival?

 

[Sarhang]

he was not, but he is another example of a successful IRI assassination in Europe (France), despite being under heavy protection. Ahmad Mola Nissi killed in the Netherlands and the KDPI leaders killed in Greece were terrorists

Arab nationalist shot dead in Netherlands

Ahmad Mola Nissi established group seeking separate state in oil-rich Iranian province

www.independent.co.uk

Mykonos restaurant assassinations - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Under heavy protection?

It was the early 1990s. Bakhtiar was 'guarded' by a secretary. Thats it. It takes very little effort to send a few thugs with knives to kill an old man living quietly in Paris suburbs. If he had truly been under serious state protection they would never have gotten anywhere near him.

Assassinations of separatist leaders are welcomed and I personally see them as justified.. they are scum of the earth. But when you look at who the Islamic Republic actually assassinated people like the Forouhars, Bakhtiar and other genuine patriots it becomes clear they never succeeded in eliminating real high level threats or dangerous terrorists. They never went after figures like the captain who shot down Iran Air Flight 655 or others truly responsible for mass civilian deaths. That kind of target was always avoided.

It was always political in nature and in most cases directed against its own patriotic people.

 

[Persian Gulf]

Under heavy protection?

It was the early 1990s. Bakhtiar was 'guarded' by a secretary. Thats it. It takes very little effort to send a few thugs with knives to kill an old man living quietly in Paris suburbs. If he had truly been under serious state protection they would never have gotten anywhere near him.

Assassinations of separatist leaders are welcomed and I personally see them as justified.. they are scum of the earth. But when you look at who the Islamic Republic actually assassinated people like the Forouhars, Bakhtiar and other genuine patriots it becomes clear they never succeeded in eliminating real high level threats or dangerous terrorists. They never went after figures like the captain who shot down Iran Air Flight 655 or others truly responsible for mass civilian deaths. That kind of target was always avoided.

It was always political in nature and in most cases directed against its own patriotic people.

he was given asylum and survived a prior assassination attempt and had heavy police protection

regardless, the discussion is about how easy it is to assassinate political figures or people given asylum in other countries. these examples clearly prove it is possible even in Europe, let alone some Afghan police officer in Iran

but on the topic, IRI played a hand in assassinating a large number of Iraqi fighter pilots under Saddam

 

[Persian Gulf]

Zarif is a nationalist now

he asked why did we defend the Arabs (Hezbollah, Assad, PIJ) so much when none of them fired even a bullet in our defence

 

[hyperman]

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If only they had this stance at the beginning of the conflict.

Some lessons are learned after trial by fire i guess.

 

[Homajon]

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Even Talibs are carrying out Assassinations inside Iran now, Iranian intelligence seems to be lacking in protecting targets and counter intelligence.

Gem TV: Iranian CEO Saeed Karimian shot dead in Istanbul

Saeed Karimian, founder of Gem TV, had previously been tried in absentia by a Tehran court.

www.bbc.com

Yet another Iranian crime boss acquired Turkish citizenship, murder case reveals - Nordic Monitor

Abdullah Bozkurt / Stockholm

nordicmonitor.com

Iranian Kurdish dissident in İstanbul dies from gunshot wounds: reports - Turkish Minute

An Iranian Kurdish dissident has died after being shot while walking home in İstanbul, Turkish media reported on Wednesday, in what rights groups described as a political assassination.

www.turkishminute.com

 

[mangekyo]

Zarif is a nationalist now

he asked why did we defend the Arabs (Hezbollah, Assad, PIJ) so much when none of them fired even a bullet in our defence

No. You are taking it out of context. They accused Iran of having expansionism dreams and using proxies to achieve it. Zarif replied no one sacrificed more for the Arab cause than Iran. Iran sacrificed everything for supporting Hamas, hezbollah etc and they have not fired a single bullet for Iran. His point is that Iran is not supporting them for selfish reasons and that Iran has no plan to expand its borders.

 

[FuturePAF]

I didn’t know which thread to share this but this seemed the most appropriate considering the protest thread is closed.

I wanted to highlight a clip (or a section of an interview), considering there was a discussion on Iran-India relations, and India’s fickleness, of an Indian “analyst” that is well received amongst the upper echelons of Indian political officials and military. He frankly lays out the mindset of how Indians see Iranians. Also, the last weeks have highlighted that Indians keep harping on a desire for Iran to return to Zoroastrianism. The hatred for Islam, in any form, is palpable.

Now that the protests have died down, the Indians have pulled back from hoping for a regime change, and what new opportunities they could exploit, now they are trying to say they favor the continuation of the regime.

This “analyst” doesn’t back the notion of a return of Zoroastrianism, but many Indians harp on that as well.

P.S. Indians looking at the protests as a chance to be a passport bro in Iran, so take that as a warning for their intent as well.

45:10-48:50

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The point of sharing it in this thread is, Iran may have to reconsider how it aligns its foreign policy, considering India’s fickleness.

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[Persian Gulf]

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[ghazi52]

Trump says Iran wants deal, US ‘armada’ larger than in Venezuela raid​

AFP
January 30, 2026



US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks in the Oval Office, at the White House in Washington, DC, the US on January 30. — Reuters

United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal to avoid military action, adding that the US “armada” near Iran was bigger than the one he dispatched to topple Venezuela’s leader.

The development came hours after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is prepared to resume talks with Washington, but they should be fair and not include Iran’s defence capabilities.

Trump made these remarks while addressing reporters in the Oval Office of the White House.

“We have a large armada, flotilla, you can call it whatever you want, heading to Iran right now. Even larger than what we had in Venezuela,” the president stated.


“Hopefully, we’ll make a deal. If we do make a deal, that’s good; if we don’t make a deal, we’ll see what happens,” Trump added.

 

[ghazi52]

Asked if Iran had been given any deadline for a deal on its nuclear programme, ballistic missiles and other issues, Trump replied, “Only they know for sure.” He added that he had communicated that directly.

“We’ll see how it all works out. They have to float someplace, so they might as well float near Iran,” Trump said, replying to a question about pulling back the US presence.

However, he cited what he said was Iran’s decision to halt executions of protesters as evidence to show Tehran was ready to comply.

“I can say this, they do want to make a deal,” Trump said.

Trump declined to say whether, if Iran did not reach a deal, he planned a repeat of the dramatic operation in Venezuela, in which US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro.

“I don’t want to talk about anything having to do with what I’m doing militarily,” he said.

 

[ghazi52]

Iran rules out defence curbs amid mediation push​

Agencies
January 31, 2026

• Erdogan offers to help ease Tehran-Washington tensions
• Trump softens threats, suggests openness to dialogue
• UK PM Starmer, allies working to block Iran’s nuclear ambitions

ISTANBUL: Turkiye intensified a diplomatic push to mediate between Tehran and Washington on Friday as US President Donald Trump appeared to cool his threats of a strike, though Iran warned that its missile capabilities would “never” be on the negotiating table.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan led regional efforts to de-escalate tensions that have soared since the US moved military assets to the Middle East following a deadly crackdown on protests in Iran.

While the Pentagon said the military remained ready, Trump lowered the temperature late on Thursday, stating he hoped to avoid conflict and that talks were possible.

Speaking during a visit to Turkiye, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed the potential for dialogue but drew a hard line regarding national defence.

“I want to state firmly that Iran’s defensive and missile capabilities will never be subject to negotiation,” Araghchi said, adding that his country had no current plans to meet US officials.

Araghchi emphasised that Tehran was “ready to begin negotiations if they take place on an equal footing, based on mutual interests and mutual respect.”

Erdogan spoke by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday, telling his counterpart that Turkiye was “ready to assume a facilitating role between Iran and the United States to de-escalate the tensions”.

Standing alongside Araghchi at a press conference in Istanbul, Fidan said restarting talks over Iran’s nuclear program was “vital for reducing regional tensions”.

He urged Washington to “act with common sense” and resist pressure from Israel, which he said was pushing for a US attack. Fidan also noted he had held discussions with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and would keep lines open to prevent Iran’s isolation.

 

[Fatman17]

Thread to be merged

 

[ghazi52]

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