Iran

Signed just days before UN sanctions snapped back into place, the $25-billion Russia–Iran nuclear deal signals a defiant alignment against western pressure, with small modular reactors at the heart of Tehran’s long-term energy ambitions. Just days before the return of UN sanctions on Iran, Russia hosted a major nuclear deal …

Tehran and Moscow’s new contract for the Rasht–Astara Railway deal unlocks the final segment of a Eurasian freight artery In the latest development, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Farzaneh Sadegh, announced on 26 October that a final contract with Russia for the construction of the Rasht–Astara Railway would …

Iran shows no signs of altering its core policies despite the damage done by Israel and the United States to Iran’s strategic architecture. A continuation of Iran’s existing policies is unlikely to bring the sanctions relief that moderate leaders such as elected President Masoud Pezeshkian deem vital to addressing economic …

Toplines Israel reportedly gave the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) a deadline of December 7 to make progress in its disarmament of Hezbollah amid ongoing Israeli preparations for a potential operation in Lebanon.[1] An Israeli Channel 13 journalist reported on November 28 that the LAF has until after Pope Leo XIV …

Toplines The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed Hezbollah’s “de facto chief of staff” and senior commander Haitham Ali Tabatabai in Beirut’s southern suburbs on November 23.[1] Tabatabai’s death will likely disrupt Hezbollah’s reconstitution for a short period because of Tabatabai’s significant experience at many echelons of command in fighting against …

Toplines Unspecified Iranian officials told The Telegraph on November 25 that the Houthis and some unspecified Iranian-backed Iraqi groups have become less responsive to Tehran.[1] The Iranian officials mischaracterized Iran’s relationship with the Houthis and Iraqi militias by misrepresenting how the Axis of Resistance functions, however. The Telegraph, citing unspecified …

A Financial Times investigation unveiled that an Iranian company claimed to possess Western-origin nuclear-related technology, which highlights how Iran continues to adapt its procurement network to advance its nuclear program despite sanctions. The Financial Times reported on November 25 that an Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND) front company, …

Toplines Some Syrian General Security Service (GSS) units are improving their counter-insurgency approach in rural minority areas by relying on relationships with locals. The GSS arrested a large Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Assadist cell in Sheikh Bader, Tartous Province, on November 12.[1] Independent Syria researcher Gregory Waters reported on …

Iranian-backed political parties are preparing to form the next Iraqi federal government after winning over a third of the seats in the recent parliamentary elections. These parties may exclude or at least weaken Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al Sudani, despite his coalition winning the plurality of seats. Sudani could try …

Michael Young: You’ve just written a very interesting essay for Foreign Affairs in which you examine the kind of changes that may be coming to Iran once the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, passes away. Before getting into the piece itself, what immediately hits the reader is that your conclusions …