Albanian Attack on Ashraf-3 demonstrates items in our report - Read it here
Iranian Diplomatic and Political Pressure as a Result of Prisoner Swaps - Albanian Attack on Ashraf-3 demonstrates items in our report
An interesting observation: Iranian social media channels and associated regime accounts announced the attack before any Albanian or news outlets.
The former President and Prime Ministers of Albania hheld press conference condemning the attack and calling it baseless. The Albanian parliament formed an urgent committee to investigate. The interior minister called in by the committee for an urgent hearing. Learn more about Iranian psyops and cognitive warfare.
- Negotiating Leverage: Iran holds foreign nationals in custody as a bargaining chip in negotiations. Iran swaps these individuals for their citizens held overseas or for other concessions, like lifting sanctions or providing financial or material resources, or removing the PMOI from their soil.
- Domestic Approval: Iran frames their successful prisoner swaps as diplomatic victories, which boost the government's approval ratings at home. The swaps show that the government can protect its citizens abroad and secure their release when they are in trouble.
- International Image: Releasing foreign prisoners improves Iran's international image, showing it as humane, fair, or willing to engage in diplomatic solutions. Releasing foreign prisoners assists their international relations and decreases hostility from other nations.
- Direct Diplomatic Engagement: Iranian prisoner swaps create opportunities for direct engagement with Western countries. The swaps assist in an opening dialog when formal diplomatic channels do not exist. The swaps open doors for further negotiations on other matters.