Reading: Article 1: از تاریخ تا استراتژی: رمزگشایی معاهده جامع ایران و روسیه
(From history to strategy: decoding the Iran-Russia Comprehensive Treaty)
Article 2: توافق جامع ایران و روسیه؛ تلاشی برای ترویج نظم جهانی چندقطبی
(The Iran-Russia Comprehensive Treaty: an effort for promoting a multipolar world order)
The present articles from the official IRNA news agency explore various aspects of the Iran-Russia Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in January 2025 in Moscow. Engaging with both lexical and idiomatic material in these texts will help students gasp a foundational understanding of Persian political terminology.
Listening: In the following video from "Iran International", Iran’s assumed fears of possible US-Russia reconciliation are being discussed. The expert tries to answer the question - did Moscow pass a message from US to Iran?
Additional Video: This additional listening material features a documentary from "Iran International" discussing recent developments in Iran’s "Resistance Axis". It will help students to develop a holistic understanding of the complexities in the relations between Iran and Russia, as well as other power centers involved in Middle East conflicts.
Subject of Conversation: Iran-Russia relations and their impact on international politics (روابط ایران و روسیه و تأثیر آن بر سیاست بین‌الملل).
Students will be divided into three groups, each representing one of the major powers under discussion: Russia, Iran, and the United States. Special attention will be given to key aspects of current developments, including: the state of the war in Ukraine and its geopolitical implications, the situation within the "Resistance Axis", the factors driving deeper Russia-Iran cooperation and the potential outcomes of the evolving political landscape. The success of each group will depend on a number of factors, including: the use of the relevant vocabulary, grammatical correctness, argumentational flexibility, cooperation among the members, etc.
Homework:
- Please carefully read today’s texts and study the vocabulary. Translate the assigned section from the second text as directed by the instructor.
- Watch the documentary and complete the task selected by the instructor: summarize the main topics discussed in around 200 words (or) transcribe and translate the assigned minutes from the documentary.
- Prepare for the next day’s discussion.
Vocabulary (Article 1 and Listening video):
| Persian Word | Transcription | English Translation |
| رمزگشایی | ramzgošāyi | decoding |
| معاهده | mo’āhede | treaty, agreement |
| جامع | jāme’ | comprehensive |
| رقم زدن | raqam zadan | to mark; to write (down) |
| در دست بودن | dar dast budan | to be in progress; to be available, to be at disposal |
| مذاکره (جمع: مذاکرات) | mozākere (mozākerāt) | negotiation |
| نهایی شدن | nahāyi šodan | to be finalized |
| بیانگر چیزی بودن | bayāngar-e čizi budan | to indicate something |
| چشم‌انداز | češmandāz | perspective |
| چالش | čāleš | challenge |
| مواجه بودن | movājeh budan | to face |
| فشار حداکثری | fešār-e hadd-e aksari | maximum pressure |
| برجام (مخفف برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک) | barjām (abbr. for barnāme-ye jame’-e eqdām-e moštarak) | JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) |
| تحریم | tahrim | sanction |
| تشدید شدن | tašdid šodan | to be intensified, to be escalated |
| لزوم | lozum | necessity |
| تنظیم مجدد | tanzim-e mojaddad | Readjustment, realignment |
| چرخش به شرق | čarxeš be šarq | Pivot to the East |
| اتخاذ کردن | ettexāz kardan | to adopt |
| نگاه به شرق | negāh be šarq | Look to the East |
| تحت | taht-e | under, beneath |
| علی‌رغم | ‘alāraqm-e | despite, in spite of |
| اهداف (مفرد: هدف) | ahdāf (sing. hadaf) | goals, targets |
| عدم | ‘adam-e | lack of, absence of |
| اعتماد متقابل | e’temād-e motaqābel | mutual trust |
| دست و پنجه نرم کردن | dast o panje narm kardan | to struggle with |
| ناشی از | nāši az | resulting from, stemming from |
| عهدنامه | ‘ahdnāme | treaty |
| منجر به چیزی شدن | monjar be čizi šodan | to lead to something, to result in something |
| تلفات (مفرد: تلف) | talafāt (sing. talaf) | losses, casualties |
| ارضی | arzi | territorial |
| قابل توجه | qābel-e tavajjoh | significant |
| افکار عمومی | afkār-e ‘omumi | public opinion |
| رسانه‌ها | resānehā | media |
| جلوه دادن | jelve dādan | to display, to represent |
| تضعیف | taz’if | weakening |
| درک شدن | dark šodan | to be understood |
| حفظ | hefz | maintaining, preservation |
| نفوذ | nofuz | influence |
| به نتبجه رسیدن | be natije residan | to reach a result |
| غلبه | ƴalabe | overcoming, prevalence |
| انعطاف پذیری | en’etāfpaziri | resilience; flexibility |
| اصول (مفرد: اصل) | osul (sing. asl) | principles |
| احترام متقابل | ehterām-e motaqābel | mutual respect |
| عقب‌نشینی | ‘aqabnešini | retreat |
| شورای امنیت سازمان ملل | šourā-ye amniyyat-e sāzmān-e melal | UN Security Council |
| فعال | fa’āl | active |
| شکل گرفتن | šekl gereftan | to take shape, to form |
| در هر حال | dar har hāl | in any case, anyway |
| زمینه فراهم شدن | zamine farāham šodan | groundwork being laid |
| شامل بودن | šāmel budan | to include, to contain |
| ماده | mādde | article, clause |
| طیف | teyf | spectrum, range |
| منافع (مفرد: منفعت) | manāfe’ (sing. manfa'at) | interests |
| مفاد | mofād | contents |
| عبارت بودن | ‘ebārat budan | to consist of |
| ارجاع دادن | erjā’ dādan | to refer |
| کانون قدرت | kānun-e qodrat | center of power |
| تهدید | tahdid | threat |
| دست از چیزی برداشتن | dast az čizi bardāštan | to give up something, to leave off, to stop |
| بدیهی است | badihi ast | it is obvious |
| زورگویی | zurguyi | coercion; bullying |
| فعالیت موشکی | fa’āliyyat-e mušaki | missile activity |
| مرور کردن | morur kardan | to review, to go over |
| مخرب | moxarreb | destructive |
| قابل اشاره | qābel-e ešāre | worth mentioning, notable |
| به طور مفصل | be tour-e mofassal | in detail |
| هشدار دادن | hošdār dādan | to warn |
| پرهیز | parhiz | avoidance |
| لحن | lahn | tone, way of speaking |
| فعالیت هسته‌ای | fa’āliyyat-e haste’i | nuclear activity |
| امکان | emkān | possibility |
| به آستانه چیزی رسیدن | be āstāne-ye čizi residan | to reach the threshold of something |
| گمانه‌زنی | gamānezani | speculation |
| موضع (جمع: مواضع) | mouze’ (plur. mavāze’) | position (plur. positions) |
| شعار | šo’ār | slogan, motto |
| نهاد | nahād | institution |
| نظامی - امنیتی | nezāmi - amniyyati | military-security |