Iran Contests Baku’s Influence Over Georgia’s Shia Community

Iran Contests Baku’s Influence Over Georgia’s Shia Community

Executive Summary: On June 22–24, Tasu’a commemorations in Marneuli and Tbilisi—featuring imagery of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—sparked a political controversy in Georgia, with the opposition warning of an Iranian influence network in Kvemo Kartli and the government dismissing the claims as religious incitement. Since independence, Georgia’s ethnic Azerbaijani community, now 268,832 people, up 15.4 percent since 2014, has been bound to …