Summary:

On 11 July 2022, Tunisian President Kais Saied held a call with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi. The two counterparts exchanged Aid al-Adha greetings and affirmed a shared desire to work toward mutually beneficial cooperation between the “two brotherly peoples.” Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had previously referred to Tunisia as Iran’s gateway to North Africa and Europe.

[mepr-show if=”loggedout”] Please login or purchase a membership to view [/mepr-show] [mepr-show if=”loggedin”]

Analysis:  

While in many ways perfunctory, the call between Saied and Raisi may signal Saied’s interest in exploring partnerships and cooperation with national-level partners that may be less concerned with his erosion of democracy in Tunisia. While Iran cannot necessarily serve as the backbone of Tunisia’s next economic bailout, the embattled Saied’s search for less critical allies could lead him to Tehran in the future should he become increasingly isolated from Tunisia’s western partnerships forged since the 2011 revolution.