The protests in Iran this month were the most recent in a series of popular uprisings that reveal a fundamental reality inside the country: The Islamic Republic in its current form is unsustainable. Since 2017, large-scale demonstrations have swept across Iran on four occasions, with masses of citizens from diverse …

The Afrin Region and the Kurdish Populations The following report, commissioned as a field assignment by the Middle East Forum, is an in-depth examination of the Afrin region located in northwest Syria along the border with Turkey. The region is known for having had a majority Kurdish population prior to …

The recent demonstrations in Iran that may have killed more than 5,000 civilians and security officers changed from largely peaceful to violent when a number of “agitators” got involved and sought to turn the gatherings focused on the poor economy into a drive to bring about regime change. It has …

Work continued for a second day at the center opened by Syria’s Ministry of Interior in Deir Ezzor (eastern Syria) to settle the status of individuals who were previously affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). A security source at the Internal Security Directorate in Deir Ezzor told Enab Baladi …

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Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, all of which have been Iran’s “frenemies” since 1979 and whose military-strategic interests are increasingly converging, are expected to exploit any large-scale instability that could follow another potential round of US strikes if Trump changes his mind. The Wall Street Journal recently published a …

Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that Russia has a historic role in Syria’s unity and stability, and in the stability of the wider region. He pointed to an upgrade in economic cooperation between the two countries. Al-Sharaa expressed hope …

Toplines US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the United States and Ukraine have finalized security guarantees for Ukraine. Rubio stated on January 28 that it “could [be] argue[d]” that the United States and Ukraine have finalized security guarantees.[1] Rubio stated that the United States will play a “key …

Toplines Iran is likely trying to deter US military action against Iran by deploying forces and conducting naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS)-affiliated outlet Defa Press claimed on January 29 that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy deployed “hundreds of fast, missile-launching, …

EU foreign ministers agreed Thursday to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist” group, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” she said. Meeting in Brussels ahead of the terror designation …